
i'.'y^awagaii 





eiif 



—■m Lake George. 




Tliis beautiful Lake stands unrivalled as a summer rpsort. Nestling in 
a basin scooped out of one of the most lovely spots upon the surface of 
this our globe; hemmed in by mountains, meadows, plains and valleys; 
clad in robes of regal, ever-varying splendor; resting like a sheet ot mol- 
ten silver, high above trie sea level ; dotted with fairy isles that glitter like 
emeralds in the summer sunlight, and seem to float upon the bosom of this 
silvery lake; its translucent waters send up pictures from its lowest depths 
to meet the charming scenes that he reflected on the borders of this lovely 
mirror, framed and set in nature's choicest brilliants ; the very air and sky 
seem to ca'^"^" *'■"* ir>or>if«itinn of thp ■unnHmna aon-noci Qr>A c""^"ise, noon 
^'%>'^<^<%,<^'%,'%><^^^<^<%^<^^/^<^^^'q] death at 

I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. t^^rTt 

i' |> 3 locality 



and sunset 
the hand o 
bloody bat 
lovelines, t 
is irresista 









JT/ie// 1..^-^..^. 



#KE, 



It was bull 
ing Place ] 
persons. ' 



f UNITED STATES OF AMERICA f y water- 

,- ^ i hundred 

fp<<s>'%,^'^<^<5^<^<^'%'^-^^,^<^^^ '%>'%,^(l3i litabiefor 



families anu parues. jiivery room is mruisnea wiin gas anu a uell. 

JL First-Class Orchestra 



Has been engaged for the season. The Stables have accommodations for 
One Hundred Horses. 

STEAM AND SAIL YACHTS 

And small Row Boats to be had on inquiry at the oflSce. To Families and 
Parties Special Terms will be made. Apply until June 1st, to ''The Ar- 
lington," Washington, D. C. 



T. RoEssLE & Son, 



Owners and Proprietors. 



THE 




REAT 



^ORTH-W 



) 



OI^H- VV EST, 



BEYOND CHICAGO. 

Hitherto we have said but little about the railways or the country beyond 
Chicago. Many of our readers have " worn out," by constant visits, much of the 
scenery and tourists' resorts of the East, and are looking for " forests new and 
pastures green " elsewhere. We would invite them to look to the great North- 
west. Here they can find lakes and hills, mountains and valleys, woods and 
streams, new, and untrod by the Eastern tourist. To get to Chicago, you have 
various and good routes. 

Beyond Chicago, we would name the great North- Western Railway, as a route 
having more terminal points, more connecting lines, and reaching more points of 
interest, than any other ; and it may be taken, should you be on business or pleas- 
ure bent, or should you desire to reach Denver, and the mountains of Colorado, 
the wilds of Idaho and Montana, or the Pacific slope, or north-westwardly the 
woods and streams and lakes of Wisconsin, Minnesota, or the Lake Superior 
■country of Northern Michigan. 

In 1849, there was not a mile of completed railroad in the vicinity of Chicago. 
Ip that year, W. B. Ogden was endeavoring to interest the people in the northern 
portion of Illinois to subscribe money to build a tramway along the route ot what 
afterwards became the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. Through almost 
insurmountable difficulties tlie venture was finally accomplished, and the road 
opened for business. From that small beginning great results have grown. In 
time the Chicago and North-Western Railway Company was formed, and took 
unto themselves the first effort of Mr. Ogden, and also other lines projected by 
him and others. This great corporation now owns and operates over two thou- 
sand miles of road, that, radiating from Chicago like the fingers in a man's hand, 
-extend in all directions, and cover about all of the country north, north-west, and 
west of Chicago. With one branch it reaches Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and 
the country north thereof; witJa another line it pushes through Janesville 
Watertown, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Escanaba, to Negaunee and 
Marquette; with another line it passes through Madison, Elroy, and for St. Paul 
-and Minneapolis; branching westward from Elroy, it runs to and through Winona, 
Owatonna, St. Peter, Mankato, New Ulm, and stops not until Lake Kampeska 
(Dakota) is reached ; another line starts from Chicago, and continues through 
Elgin and Rockford to Freeport, and connects for Warren, Galena, and Dubuque, 
and the country beyond. Still another line runs almost due westward, and passes 
through Dixon, Sterling, Fulton, Clinton (lo.), Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, 
Grand Junction, Missouri Valley Junction, to Council Bluffs and Omaha. This 



the " Great Trans-Continental Route," and the pioneer overland line for 
Nebraska, Colorado Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, and the Pacific 
Coast. It runs through the garden of Illinois and Iowa, and is the shortest and 
quickest route for Omaha., Lincoln, and other points in Nebraska, and for 
Cheyenne, Denver, Salt Lake City, Virginia City, Carson, Sacramento, San 
Francisco, and all other points west of the Missouri River. 

See, then, what one company can do for you. If you want to go to Milwaukee, 
Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Janesville, Watertown, Oshkosh, De Pare, 
Green Bay, Ripon, Madison, Baraboo, Eau Claire, Hudson, Stillwater, St. Paul, 
Minneapolis, Duluth, Breckenridge, Morehead, Fort Garry, Winona, Owatonna, 
New Ulm, Freeport, Warren, Plattville, Galena, Dubuque, Waterloo, Fort 
Dodge, Sioux City, Yankton, Council Bluffs, Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, Salt Lake 
City, Sacramento, San Francisco, or a hundred other northern, north-western, or 
western points, this great line affords the amplest accommodations. The track is 
ofthe best steel rail, and is well ballasted, and as free from dust as a road can be 
made. The bridges are strong and durable ; and all the appointments are first- 
class in every respect. The trains that run over this route are made up of elegant 
new Pullman palace drawing-room and sleeping coaches huilt expressly for this 
line; luxurious, well lighted, and well-ventilated day-coaches, and pleasant 
lounging and smoking cars, all built by this company in their own shops. The 
cars are all equipped with the celebrated Miller safety platform, and patent 
buffers and couplings, Westinghouse safety air brakes, and every other appHancy 
that has been devised for the safety of passenger-trains. All trains are run by 
telegraph, and are so regularly on time that one could safely set his watch by 
their arrivals or departures. It is acknowledged by the travelling public to be the 
popular line for all points in Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northern 
Michigan, Dakota, Western Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Mon- 
tana, Idaho, Nevada, California, and the Pacific slope. 

The Devil's Lake country around Baraboo (171 miles from Chicago), the 
beautiful lake country around Madison (140 miles from Chicago), Sparta (a 
celebrated magnetic-spring resort), Escanaba, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Elk- 
hart Lake, Marquette, St. Paul, Minneapolis, the Falls of Minnehaha, Lakes 
Calhoun, Harriett, and Minnetonkee, White Bear Lake, Lake Como, and many 
other points on this route, are well worth visiting. Good Hotels, and pleasant 
boarding and farm houses, abonnd ; near which you can find fishing, sailing, 
boating, and bathing to your heart's content. Lake Geneva, the gem of Western 
lakes, is also on this line ; and at its head is the town of that name, that has 
been appropriately named "The Saratoga ofthe West." The Chicago and 
North- Western each year places on sale excursion -tickets at cheap rates to all of 
its summer resorts in the North-west, and to Denver and other points in Colorado. 
George L. Harrison, at 5 State Street, Boston is the New England Agent 
of this great Line and will at all times be pleased to give full information about 
its routes, etc. 

MARVIN HUGHITT, W\ H. STENNETT, 

General Superintendent, Gen'l Passenger Agent. 

Chicago. Chicago. 



Stran&^ers and Citizens are Cordially Invited 

TO VISIT THE STORE OF 

Bradford & Anthony, 

374 Washington St. (opposite Bromfield St.,) Boston, 

Importers, Wholesale and Retail Dealers In 

dutlefy, S^i^l\iii^-¥kdkle, 

SKATES, AND FANCY HARDWARE. 

Throughout this establishment, from basement to roof, are to be seen many novel 
and useful articles. Table Cutlery — of latest styles — finest finish and servica- 
ble quality. Pocket-Knives — of all the noted makers in every style. Fancy 
KNives. Scissors — elegantly finished — all sizes and forms — also in Sets and 
Cases. Razors, Dressing Cases, Travelling Cases, Sportsmen's Knives. 
Traveller's Articles — such as Luncheon Baskets, Flasks, Pocket Stoves, 
Telescopes, Pocket Compasses. &c., &c. Fancy Hardware in endless variety. 
Small Steel Wares. Anglers will find everything for fishing, of the most 
reliable quality, of all kinds and styles. Rods made of Split Bamboo, Green- 
heart, Lancewood, &c. Reels of Aluminium, Oreide, Ebonite, &c. Artificial 
Flies for all waters, own patterns and dressing ; special Flies made to order. 
Everything that is new and choice in the way of Fishing-Tackle. 

Bradford & Anthony ara Agents for the United States for the Patent Acme Skates, 
the best self-fastening Skates made, and have always a full assortment of the best 
and latest styles of Skates in the market. 



•<^ The Family Newspaper, ^ 

DAILY, SEMI-WEEKLY AHD WEEKLY. 

EVElSriKG- TRAVELLER, 

[Established 1815.] 

¥l\e I<af g^e^t ^olio 5<Yei\in^ Papef ii\ ]\f ew 5<ii^ai|d. 

$9.00 per anmun, including Postage. 

BOSTON (w^Hctv) TRAVELLER, 

[Established 1821.] 
$4.00 per annuiii in adyance. 

AMERICAN (WEEKLY) TRAVELLER, 

[ESTAELiyHED 1838.] 

$2.00 per annum in advance. 

WOSTHINGTON, FLAHDERS Ss CO., Traveller Building, Boston. 



THE BOSTON 

GOMMESGIAL BULLETIN. 

The Best Paper of the kind in the Coiintry. 

^^^^ The only paper that prints the 
MANVFACTUHING NEWS 

of the United States, and the 

BUSINESS CHANGES in the UNITED STATES. 

INCLUDING 

New Partnerships, Dissolutions, Failures, and Suspensions. 

ALSO, 

Uarket Beports, Mone^ Articles, Business Items, Gossip of Trade, Bailroad aai 

Insurance Matters, 

ORIGINAL SKETCHES 

By the Best American Authors. 

Also, the celebrated 

SIPIOE OIF LIIFE COLTJlVIIl^r 

Of Original "Wit and Humor. 

Terms: Four Dollars a Year. 



fl®=- The Commercial Bulletin lias the largest circulation of 
any Paper of its class in the United States. 



Office: Bulletin Building, 275 "Washington Street, 

opposite Water Street, - - - BOSTON. 

CURTIS GUILD & CO., Proprs. 



AiaSAlIKi 



THE STANDARD OF THE WORLD. 



05 

•so 

CO 

o 







5 

CD 
O 

CD" 



The Most Convenient 

HIGHEST PRIZES AT PARIS IN 1857; VIENNA, MONTREAL, 
1873; PHILADELPHIA, 1874. 

In every respect worthy of the most implicit confidence, and in their correct- 
ness of Principle, in their Accuracy of Adjustment, m their Durability, and in 
their convenient Adaptability to every business need, they are 

UNEQUALLED. 

FAIRBANKS' 




achgs lealssp 



Designed for and adopted by the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. Also, 

Miles' Patent Alarm Safety Money Drawer. 

WAREHOUSES: 

2 Milk St., Old South Block, Boston, 

FAIRBANKS, BROWN & GO. 
311 Broadway, - - - New York, 

FAIRBANKS & CO. 



ALARM 

TILL M^CCo 

PROVIDENCE, 




;j4;. 
m 

k 

t 



If- 

w 
I 

!i'r ■ 



V ■ 




FAXON'S 



an 



t 



OF 



SUMMER TRAVEL, 



TO THE 



LAKES, SPRINGS AND MOUNTAINS 



OF 



NEW ENGLAND AND NE¥ YORK. 



BY EDWARD S. SEARS. 



KouTES TO New York, Long Island Sound, the Hudson Rivek 
THE HoosAC Tunnel and Saratoga. Lakes George, 
Champlain, Winnepiseogee and Memphrebeagog. 
ll The White Mountains, and the Adiron- 

n DACKs. Niagara, the St. Lawrence 

\ 



AND 'IHE SAGUENAY, ETC., ETC. 



BOSTON: ''■■'"' ^i v^ ^5\\\'^'^ \y" 

V U B L ISHED BY CHARLES A. F A^XJ 

No. 228 Washington Street. 

(FOKMEKLY 82.) 

I875-' 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 187s, by 

C. A. FAXON, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress^ at Washington. 






J. B. Batchelder & Co., Piinters, 319 Washington St., Boston. 



CHAPTER I. 

Steamboat Routes to New York. — Stonington ILine ^ 
Providence; Steamer Rhode Island; Approach to New 
York ; The Fall River Route ; Nev^^port ; Norwich Line \ 
Norwich ; Shore Line Route to New York ; New Haven ; 
Springfield Route to New York ; Hartford and the Con- 
necticut River. 

CHAPTER II. 

Up the Hudson River to Albany. — Saratoga; The Pali- 
sades; Highlands; West Point; Newburgh; Fishkill;: 
Poughkeepsie ; Hudson Citj ; Albany ; other Routes to 
Saratoga ; Fitchburg. Rutland and Saratoga Line ; Fitch- 
burg; Mount Monadnock ; Bellows Falls ; Ludlow; Rut- 
land ; Rutland to Saratoga ; Boston and Albany Route ; 
"Worcester; Springfield; Pittsfield to Albany. 

CHAPTER III. 

The Hoosac Tunnel Route to Saratoga. — Fitchburg; 
Gardiner; Athol ; Orange; Brattleboro' ; Greenfield; 
Hoosac Tunnel and its History; North Adams to Troy. 

• CHAPTER IV. 

Saratoga and its Attractions. — Congress Park ; Con- 
gress, Columbian, Empire, Star, Pavilion, Hathorn 
and Geyser Springs; Analysis of the Waters; Bottling 
the Waters ; United States, Grand Union, Congress and 



CONTENl'S. 

Columbian Hotels ; The Holden and Waverlj Houses ; 
Strong's Institute ; Social Life in Saratoga ; Schroon 
Lake ; The Route to Lake George. 

CHAPTER V. 

Lake George and its Beauties. — The Fort William 
Henrj Hotel; Trip down the Lake; History of Lake 
George; Ticonderoga. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Down Lake Champlain. — Crown Point ; Burlington ; Lake 
View; Across the Lake to Plattsburg; Scene of the 
Battle, etc. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Plattsburg and the Ausable Chasm. — .Fouquet's Hotel ; 
Plattsburg; The Drive to the Chasm; Map of the 
Chasm ; The Journey through the Glen, etc. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Adirondack Region. — Paul Smith's ; Martin's ; Boat 
Trip through the Lakes ; A Visit to the Southern Lakes ; 
Big Tupper ; Long and Raquette Lakes ; John Brown 
Tract ; Eckford Chain of Lakes ; The Southern Adiron- 
dacks ; Indian Pass ; Elizabethtown ; Lake Placid ; Wil- 
mington Pass and Whiteface Mountain. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Routes to Montreal. — Via Lowell, Manchester, Concord; 
The Air Line Route; Lake Winnipiseogee ; Down the 
Lake to Wolf boro' ; Alton Bay ; Plymouth ; The Grand 
Trunk Route; Wells River; Newport; Lake Memphrem- 
agog ; Trip down the Lake ; Central Vermont Route ; 
Mount Mansfield ; St. Albans ; Vermont Mineral Springs ; 
From Rutland to Montreal ; Plattsburg to Montreal. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 



Route to Niagara Falls. — Rochester to Niagara; The 
Village and its Hotels ; Tour of the Islands ; Biddle 
Stairs and Cave of the Winds; Prospect Park; Across 
the River; Suspension Bridge; Webster's Description; 
Across Lake Ontario ; Down the St. Lawrence ; The 
Thousand Islands ; Ogdensburg; Down the Rapids. 

CHAPTER XL 

Montreal. — Its Squares, Buildings, Churches, Institutions; 
Drive around the Mountain; Down the River to Quebec; 
Citj of Quebec and its History; The Suburbs; Mont- 
morenci Falls; The Lower St. Lawrence and the 
Saguenaj; Tadousac; Ha! Ha! Bay; other Trips from 
Quebec. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The White Mountains. — Old Man of the Mountain; The 
Flume ; Twin Mountain and Crawford Houses ; The 
Notch ; Gate of the Notch ; Climbing Mount Washing- 
ton ; North Conway ; Kiarsarge Mountain. 




THE PROLOGUE. 




'N 1873 and 1874, Faxon's Handbook of Travel 
to Saratoga, the Adirondacks, Niagara and 
the Northern watering-places was received 
with the most flattering favor bj the public 
generally and by tourists especially. So 
marked, indeed, was the favor accorded it, 
that the publisher would have been justified 
in re-issuing it without change, for an in- 
definite period, assured of abundant success. 
But the Spring of 1875 brought the comple- 
tion of the Hoosac Tunnel, and other impor- 
tant routes of travel, which fact, with the 
•desire to improve the book still further, and to place it at 
the head of all similar works, determined the publisher up- 
on a complete revision of the work, including all changes 
up to the present time, and also introducing much additional 
information and many descriptions of scenes not found in the 
previous issues. This work, which extends to an entire re- 
writing of the book, has been carefully and conscientiously 
performed, great pains being taken to present the facts ac- 
curately, yet with due regard to interest, and it is believed 
that a thoroughly trustworthy guidebook, as well as an en- 
joyable volume for whiling away the tedium of travel is the 
result. The attention of the reader is especially called to 
several original features in this book which will be of value 
to the tourist. 



TOURISTS' M^F 



mMw if a: 



I>IM- |U1|1| 




. Ucohiflt^iiiilitniirL. 



^ I Si'. X^ ., -^1, /- IMIilclkHi. '.'■ 








lAf 



CHAPTER I. 

Steamboat Routes to Saratoga. 

HE objective point of our 
journeyings for the present 
being Saratoga, we will first 
show how a very pleasant 
trip thither may be made 
principally by steamer, 
with more or less railroad 
worked in by way of con- 
nections, as may be de- 
sired. And in opening the 
consideration of this sub- 
ject, several popular, esti- 
mable and every way first- 
class routes intrude them- 
selves, so to speak, upon our 
notice, and we shall treat 
them, one at a time as they 
deserve. But first, which- 
ever route be chosen, we will 
presume the tourist under- 
stands his business, has 
procured his tickets and laid out his course beforehand, and 
has not as some foolish"^virgins do, left all till arrival at the 
railway station, a few minutes before train-time. Thus in place 




2 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

of a nearly distracted and thoroughly irritated man, hurl- 
ling questions at the head of a busy and preoccupied ticket- 
seller or a hurrying and impatient porter, while his family 
(the traveller's, not the porter's) stand around in anxiety and 
despair, we shall have the pleasing spectacle of a complacent 
and amiable gentleman, leading a well ordered and joyous 
procession of his family into the right car, at the right time 
and bound in the right direction; with ample leisure for the 
purchase of the morning papers and the selection of seats on 
the shady side of the car, or a desirable section in the "draw- 
ing room " if preferred. This much premised, we will pro- 
ceed to speak of 

The Stonington Route to New York, 

whence we will take the Hudson river boats to Albany, and 
the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad thence to the Springs. 
The agency in Boston of this line is at 228 Washington 
street, where courteous gentlemen will be happy to afford 
any necessary information and to sell tickets for any desirable 
excursion taking in this route. From Boston our course is 
over the Boston and Providence Railroad, one of the best- 
managed and most comfortable roads to ride over, in the 
country. The station is on Park Square, only a few steps 
from the Common and the Public Garden, and is one of the 
largest and finest railway depots in New England. The mag- 
nificent train house, a huge Gothic arch, accominodates a doz- 
en trains at once, without confusion or inconvenience, while 
the waiting rooms, offices, etc., in the head-house fronting on 
the Square, are magnificent in their dimensions, furnishings 
and conveniences. A lofty clock-tower surmounts the head- 
house and adds beauty and lightness to the outward appear- 
ance of the structure. Taking seats on the right hand side of 
the cars if it be a hot and sunny day, we are whirled out of 
the station, across the Back Bay, stopping for one instant 
at the crossing of the Boston and Albany, and then a delight- 
ful ride begins through the beautiful western suburbs of Bos- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 3 

ton. The several neat and convenient stations in the newly 
annexed wards of the citj are passed, and then come Hjde 
Park, Readville and Canton (14 miles from Boston, and the seat 
of one of Eliot's Christian-Indian settlements), M'^here the 
railroad traverses a viaduct of solid granite 63 feet high and 
600 feet long, and whence, seated in the cars, we overlook the 
roofs of the village. Here the Stoughton Branch, four miles 
long, leaves the main road and runs southeasterly to Stough- 
ton forming a connection with the Old Colony. Blue Hill, 
an eminence over 600 feet high, commands a fine view of the 
city which we have just left, the ocean dotted with snowy 
sails and the whole surrounding country. Next come Sharon 
and Foxboro, noted for their fine hills, their manufacture of 
straw-goods and their fine farms. Mansfield, 22 miles from 
Boston, is the next place, and here we make our first stop, 
taking on board probably, a number of passengers who have 
come down from Fitchburg, Clinton, Lowell or South Fram- 
ingham "and way stations" via the Mansfield and Framingham 
Railroad, which here crosses our track on its way to Taunton 
and New Bedford, and which will hereafter be described. 
The junction here of these two important lines has made 
Mansfield quite a busy, thriving railroad centre, though there 
is little else of interest about the place. Passing West Mans- 
field "on the fly" we are soon whizzing through Attleborough, 
on a high embankment, giving us a view of the busy village, 
with its factories lighted up, if it be a dark evening, and 
their hundreds of windows gleaming through the darkness like 
fire-flies. The principal industries — indeed almost the uni- 
versal manufacture, is that of jewelry. The tradition used to 
be that Attleboro jewelry could be procured for fifty cents a 
peck, and that it was dear at that, but of late the manufac- 
turers have copied costly gold jewelry with such accuracy and 
good taste, and have so thoroughly plated their goods that 
their appearance can be hardly distinguished from the origi- 
nal, and they will wear for a number of years. Dodgeville 
and Hebronville, manufacturing villages, are rapidly left 



4 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

behind, and then we pass through Pawtucket, 39 miles from 
Boston, the first town in Rhode Island, on a high embank- 
ment, with quite a sharp curve, and have a fine view of the 
many large and busy manufactories for which the place is 
famous. Here are the Pawtucket tack works, turning out 
some 300 or 400 millions annually, the Dunnell manufactur- 
ing company's thirty-six factories, where some 20 million 
yards of calico are yearly printed, the thread and spool fac- 
tories, the steam fire engine works and many other industries. 
Pawtucket has its historical interest, also, being the spot 
where in 1676 Captain Pierce with 70 men were massacred by 
the Indians in the bloody " King Philip's war." From Paw- 
tucket we ride only five minutes or so until we draw up in 
the fine and spacious railway station at Providence, 43^ miles 
from Boston. 

Providence — Its History and Surroundings. 

Probably every reader of this book is familiar with more or 
less of the history of this, the second city in size and wealth, 
of the Eastern States. " The State of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations," as the official documents read, has 
had more good natured fun made of it than any other State 
in the Union, except perhaps Delaware, on account of its tiny 
dimensions and its two capitals, being, sirtce the rejection of 
the absurd custom by Connecticut, the only State which in- 
dulges in such an expensive and needless luxury. Yet if 
wealth, industry and prosperity count for anything, Rhode 
Island is a great State, and as for patriotism and national 
pride, the i68o Rhode Island soldiers who fell in the war for 
the Union sufficiently answer. Providence "is the State" to 
a greater degree, probably, than is true of the capital of any 
other Commonwealth, not merely by virtue of containing 
some 70,000 of the 220,000 entire population of the State, but 
by virtue of its commerce, its manufactures, its educational 
institutions and the wealth and enterprise of its citizens. 
It is a beautiful city, most attractively located around the head 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 5 

of Narragansett Baj, which stretches southward to the ocean. 
The Providence river, which empties into the bay, expands 
into a cove, almost circular in form, and quite large in area, 
which lies to our right as we enter the station. This cove is 
surrounded bj a broad walk, shaded by fine trees, amply 
lighted and protected by an iron railing, thus forming a favor- 
ite promenade in the Summer. The view across the cove in 
the evening, when all the twinkling lights are gleaming and 
their reflections flash from the water, is very pretty. The 
Seekonk river runs on the East side of the city, forming at its 
confluence with the Providence river a broad and commodious 
harbor. On the eastern side of the Seekonk, is East Provi- 
dence, a pleasant suburb, through which the Providence, 
"Warren and Bristol Railroad runs along the shore of the bay 
to Vue de L'Eau, and thence to Warren and Bristol. The city 
is very irregularly laid out, rivalling its ancient foe, Boston, 
in that respect, but its business streets and buildings are 
many of them very fine. The manufacture of steam engines 
and other machinery, silver ware, fire-arms, cigars, etc., 
foreign commerce and trade are the principal sources of the 
wealth of Providence. Alighting from the cars, we step out 
of the depot upon Exchange Place, where we see the fine sol- 
diers' monument, from the design of Randolph Rogers, and 
which was erected by the State. The base is of blue Westerly 
granite and the superstructure of bronze. Four statues seven 
feet high represent the Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and the 
Navy, and above thein stands a figure of Ainerica, ten feet 
high, extending in one hand a wreath of immortelles for the 
fallen and in the other a sword and laurel wreath for the liv- 
ing. A short distance from the monument, towards the river, 
is the Custom House and Post-office, a massive granite build- 
ing, and just across the river is the City Hall. The Arcade, 
a large, open hall, roofed with glass, on either side of which, 
on two stories, open retail stores of various descriptions, ex- 
tends through from Weybosset to Westminster streets, in 
this immediate vicinity, and is one of the attractions usually 



6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

shown to strangers. The Rhode Island Hospital, Brown Uni- 
versity, the Athenaeum, the Rhode Island Historical Society's 
Hall, the Dexter Asylum, the Butler Insane Hospital, the 
Friends' Boarding School, and the State Prison are the prin- 
cipal public institutions, and there are many fine churches of 
various denominations. 

Providence was founded in June, 1636, by Roger Williams, 
who had been exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for 
heretical religious views, he being a Baptist. On his coming 
hither, he was drifting down the Seekonk river, when at a 
rock near the foot of Power street, which is still shown to 
visitors, he was hailed by some Indians with the cry "What 
cheer? " He landed, "end after a short confab with the savages, 
who were very friendly and amiable, he continued his course 
a few blocks further, under the India street bridge and around 
Fox street to the mouth of the Providence river, where he saw 
a good opening for a settlement, and accordingly settled. 
Since that day, Roger Williams and What Cheer have been 
the patron saints of Rhode Island, and nearly everything in 
Providence is named after one or the other. Roger Williams 
was a good man and he was the first to try the experiment of 
genuine and perfect religious liberty in this country. The 
consequence was that his little colony was soon filled up with 
all sorts of " damnable heretics," Qiiakers, Baptists, Catho- 
lics and those of no particular faith, yet they managed to pros- 
per, branch out and increase, living at peace with each other 
and with the Indians. It will be observed that there were 
good Indians in those days. The Narragansetts, as Roger 
Williams found them, were a simple, amiable race, and what 
is most wonderful for Indians, industrious, supplying most of 
their dusky brethren of other tribes with wampum, pipes and 
pottery. The only good Indians nowadays, are dead Indians. 

The suburbs of Providence are very inviting to the Summer 
tourist. By the Providence, Warren and Bristol railroad, one 
may visit several watering places along the east shore of Nar- 
raganset Bay, or may settle for a time at Warren, the former 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 7 

home of Massasoit, or at Bristol, near which is Mount Hope, 
the dwelling place of Metacomet or King Philip, son of the 
great sachem, and the bitterest foe of the whites in the long 
war which ended with his death. By steamers from Provi- 
dence one can take passage almost hourly down the Bay to 
Vue de L'Eau, Smith's Palace, Silver Springs, Cedar Grove, 
Bullock's Point, Nayatt Point; Rocky Point, the most cele- 
^ brated shore resort and clambake manufactory in New Eng- 
land ; past Warwick, fainous in old times as the seat of a 
colony of most remarkable heretics even for that age, and 
as the birthplace of General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolu- 
tionary fame ; by Prudence, Hope, Patience and Despair 
Islands, then down between Rhode and Conanicut Islands, 
and into the harbor of Newport. From Providence, a line 
of steamers runs to New York, the Hartford, Providence 
and Fishkill Railroad runs west to Hartford and Water- 
burj^, the Providence and Worcester northwest to Worcester, 
and the Stonington and Providence, by which we continue 
our route, and which forms part of the Shore Line, (all-rail) 
to New York, skirts along the west coast of Narraganset Bay 
and across a point of Washington County, across the line of 
Connecticut to Stonington at the easterly end of Long Island 
Sound. 

Stonington and the Sound Voyage. 

Leaving Providence we pass nearly south through the 
towns of Cranston (noted for its cotton-mills and for its Nar- 
ragansett race-course), Warwick, previously' described; Green- 
wich, the site of a Methodist seininary; Wickford, a sleepy, 
antique place, and Kingston (70 miles from Boston), the coun- 
ty seat, whence carriages convey passengers to Narragansett 
Pier, nine miles southeast, the j^outhful rival of Newport, 
with its cluster of hotels, its fine beach, its overlooking 
Heights, its morning bathing and afternoon croquet, and its 
drives to Narragansett Heights, the neighboring lakelets, Point 
Judith and other points of interest. This town of South 



8 ' TOC/R/STS' FIANDBOOK. 

Kingstown is the largest in Rhode Island, covering an area of 
76 square miles ; it is noted as the birthplace of Commodore 
Perrv and of Stuart the great painter, and for containing the 
great swamp in which was fought the decisive battle in the 
King Philip war. On a hill crowned with pines and cedars 
in the centre of this swamp are still to be seen the remains of 
the rude fort in which the desperate Narragansetts intrenched 
themselves and whence thej were driven bj the still more 
desperate colonists from Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

Leaving behind Carolina, a manufacturing village, Rich- 
mond Switch and Niantic, we come to Westerly, which lies on 
both sides of the Pawcatuck river. Here is the dividing line 
between Connecticut and Rhode Island ; accordingly one half 
the village is in one State and the rest in the other. Another 
curious feature of Westerly is that nearly all the inhabitants 
are Seventh Day Baptists, so that on Saturday the visitor will 
find the manufactories and stores closed and the church bells 
ringing. On Sunday, everything assumes its week-day aspect. 
There are extensive flannel and cotton mills here and the vil- 
lage has quite a picturesque appearance. There is one fine 
hotel here, the Dixon House, owned by and named after ex- 
Senator Dixon. From Westerly a little steamer runs twice 
daily down the river to Watch Hill, a favorite watering place 
on the Sound, or rather on the precipitous promontory which 
divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Sound. On the one side 
of this point the visitor can enjoy still-bathing; on the other 
surf-bathing, which in high winds is too high and strong for 
safety. Watch Hill is also accessible six times daily by boat 
from Stonington and once or twice daily by boats from Nor- 
wich and New London. There are seven fine hotels at Watch 
Hill, all on the summit of the Bluff", and a fine view of the 
Sound, Fisher's and Block Islands, and the town of Stoning- 
ton on the mainland just across the sheltered bay. The col- 
lision by which the steamer Metis was sunk off" Watch Hill, 
in August, 1872, will be remembered for many years by resi- 
dents and visitors. The deck of the vessel with most of the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 9 

rescued passengers washed ashore on the point, and so did 
most of the bodies of the drowned. The proprietors and 
guests of the hotels were indefatigable in their efforts for the 
comfort of the rescued. 

Stonington, 92 miles from Boston, is the next station, but 
we do not see anything of the quaint and sleepy old town, for 
we are switched oif a mile or two short of the station, and 
sent down to the landing alongside which lies the steamer 
Rhode Island, Stonington or Narragansett, with steam up, 
ready to convey us to New York. These steamers of the 
Stonington line (especially the Rhode Island, the newest of 
the Sound boats and one of the most elegant afloat) are fa- 
mous the country over for their speed, safety, comfort and 
luxury, and the convenient hours at which they start and ar- 
rive have always made this a favorite route with the public. 

The Illiode Island — A Model Steamer and an Enchant- 
ing Sail. 

The Rhode Island may be taken as a model Sound steamer, 
her size, elegance and varied conveniences being united with 
speed and safety, thus making up all the desirable qualities of 
a steamboat. One novel and most agreeable feature is the 
location of the dining hall on the main deck, aft the space 
usually devoted to the Ladies Saloon. This dining hall is a 
spacious and luxurious apartment, fitted up tastily and look- 
ing out upon the water on both sides, thus ensuring a happy 
combination of light, fresh, pure air, and an everchanging 
scene npon the waters of the largest inland sea of America. 
The linen, silver, glass and service of this hall is rich, attrac- 
tive, and, in beauty of finish, all that the most fastidious could 
hope or wish for. The dining room will seat 250 persons at 
one sitting. On warm afternoons, parties desiring it can 
dine oif the spacious guards, a novelty in steamboat travel. 
There are 165 staterooms, each large and with lofty ceilings. 
Every room on the boat is lit with gas, and in each alcove is 
an electric bell, which communicates with the steward's de- 



lO TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

partment, which is a novelty on a Sound steamer. The rooms 
are richly furnished and fitted with every convenience. A 
Chickering grand piano graces the saloon which is sumptu- 
ously decorated, carpeted and frescoed, and is lighted by ele- 
gant bronze chandeliers. One of the noticeable features of 
this really magnificent steamer is the application of steam to 
her steering wheel, which reduces the chances of accident by 
collision to the inerest minimum. A child can steer the 
Rhode Island, as far as strength is required. Under its pres- 
ent auspices the Stonington Steamboat Company has been in 
operation seven years, without missing a trip or losing a 
single life. It traverses what is called the inside route^ thus 
avoiding the rough and uncertain passage around Point 
Judith, and its provisions for the comfort and pleasure of pas- 
sengers are unsurpassed. 

Embarking at about 9 o'clock we are soon steaming out into 
the Sound, with a view of the gleaming lights of the Watch 
Hill hotels on our -left, and the blazing Fisher's Island light 
ahead of us. Soon we turn to the eastward and lay our course 
up the Sound, with the beautiful hills and green fields of Con- 
necticut on our right, and the low, flat, monotonous shores of 
Long Island in the distance on our left. After a substantial 
supper in the saloon below, if it be a moonlight night, we 
shall find our chief enjoyment of the trip in sitting out 
upon the forward deck, watching the lights on shore, the pas- 
ing sails that gleam ghostly white in the moonbeams for an 
instant and flit by like morning vapors ; the bold outlines of 
the eminences on the shore, or the islands along our course, 
while the gentlemen enjoy the acme of physical happiness in 
the whifliing of fragrant cigars, and the ladies, wrapped in 
fleecy nothings express their uncontrollable enthusiasm in 
positive declarations that "it's just too lovely for anything." 
Or, if the breeze be too strong, as Sound breezes even in 
Summer often are, we shall find in a seat upon the afterdeck, 
with the steamer's wake churned to frothy whiteness by the 
paddlewheels stretching behind us like a path of silver in the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. II 

white moonbeams, a fascination that we would not forego, 
and here for hours we shall find delighted voyagers drinking 
in the beauty of the scene with placid contentment. But 
romance fades before the di-owsy god, and we shall doubtless 
succumb to the desire for sleep sometime before midnight. 
Then we can retire to our cosy staterooms fitted with electric 
bells, running water, gas and other comforts of a first class 
hotel, and on a luxurious bed rest as sweetly as if at home, 
being wakened in the morning, if we desire, in season to en- 
joy the sail through the East River and Hell Gate ; or if we 
prefer can slumber till the boat reaches her pier, No. 33 North 
River. 

The Approach to New York. 

The East River, so called, is simply the narrow strait by 
which the waters of the Sound communicate with New York 
Bay. The narrowest portion of this strait, filled with sunken 
ledges, projecting rocks and small islets, through which all the 
water is poured at every turn of the tide is known as Hell 
Gate, from its dangerous character in years past. Many ves- 
sels have been caught in its treacherous, boiling whirlpools 
and dashed upon its sunken rocks, to destruction. But the 
government engineers, by blasting out the submarine rocks 
have greatly changed the aspect of the place for the better and 
there is now little or no danger in navigating the river. Our 
entrance to the river is made where the Sound, suddenly nar- 
rowing, is almost cut off by the projection of Throgg's Neck, 
from the shore of Westchester County on the north, and the 
almost coincident projection of Willett's Point from Long 
Island on the south. Here the government has two strong 
fortifications commanding the passage of the river and the 
approach to the city from this direction. Soon we pass Flush- 
ing Bay, on the left, with the beautiful village of the same 
name at its head ; Randall's Island, with its House of Refuge 
for young criminals ; Ward's Island, with its Emigrant Hospi- 
tal and Potter's Field ; Hell Gate, with its swirling currents 



'12 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

and rockj isles; Astoria and Ravenswood, prettj villages on 
the Long Island shore ; Blackwell's Island, with its Lunatic 
Asylum, Workhouse, Almshouse, Penitentiary, Charity Hos- 
pital, Small-pox Hospital, and its neat little fortification, built 
by a crazy inmate na:ned Maxey, who was impressed with the 
belief that this was the true point to defend the city. We 
now begin to realize our approach to the metropolis. The 
elegant villas and richly cultivated gardens on either side of 
the river begin to give place to foundries, ship-yards and other 
manufacturing establishments ; on our left we pass in succes- 
sion Hunter's Point, Greenpoint, Williamsburg (now part of 
Brooklyn), the Wallabout Bay, with the U. S. Navy Yard and 
the houses and spires of Brooklyn ; on our right flit past one 
after the other Jones's Wood, the German festival garden, 
Bellevue Hospital, and then the solid squares of brick and mor- 
tar that go to make up the great city. Continuing down the 
East River, amid the swarm of ferryboats that dart out from 
the slips on either hand, by the forests of masts that line the, 
wharves on both sides, we pass the huge and towering piers 
of the Brooklyn Suspension Bridge, turn to the right and 
are soon rounding the Batteiy. This small island on our 
left, covered with fortifications bristling with guns, and sur- 
monnted by a circular fort that looks as much like a cheese as 
anything, is Governor's Island. That round, odd looking 
structure on our right, with a conical roof that looks like a big 
gasholder, is Castle Garden, once a fort, later the fashion- 
able concert hall and ball-room of the city, where Jenny Lind, 
Parodi, Sontag and other old-time prime-donne made their 
most notable successes ; now the emigant depot of the city. 
It was formerly isolated from the main land, and accessible 
only by a bridge, but among the improvements carried on by 
the Tammany ring, with Boss Tweed as its centre, was the ex- 
tension and beautifying of the Battery, by which Castle Gar- 
den was included within its limits, the whole territory enclosed 
by a splendid granite sea-wall, the surface graded, turfed and 
laid out in walks, trees planted, lights set, and the whole made 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 3 

a most attractive pleasure park for the densely crowded dis- 
trict in its vicinity. " Give the devil his due" is an old pro- 
verb, and Boss Tweed and the Tammany ring have received 
so much just denunciation that they ought to have credit for 
this genuine improvement to the city. Looking directly north 
from the Battery extends Broadway, the great artery of Man- 
hattan Island. We are now entering the North or Hudson river, 
and passing between New York city on the right, and Jersey city 
and Hoboken on the left. On both sides are the piers and docks 
of steamship lines, foreign and domestic, and all along the 
■wharves are the proofs of the immense commerce of the city. 
The piers are numbered in regular order, beginning at the 
Battery, and as our Pier is No. 33, it is only a short time before 
WQ are "warping in" and soon we are landed at the foot of 
Jay street, a few steps from West street. As this is not a cyclo- 
psedia nor a gazetteer, no description of New York city will 
, be attempted ; indeed to most people it will be unnecessary. 
We will simply pursue our journey Saratogaward, proceeding 
by steamer up the Hudson, as described in Chapter II. 

The Old Colony Houte to Saratoga. 

Another favorite route from Boston to New York, en route 
for Saratoga, is that via Old Colony Railroad to Fall River 
or Newport, thence by the steamer Bristol or Providence to New 
York, and thence up the Hudson, as described in next chapter. 
If we decide on this route, our first move will be to visit the 
office of the line in the venerable old building at the head of 
State street, formerly the seat of the assembled wisdom of the 
colony, known as the Old State House. Having purchased 
tickets and secured check for a first class stateroom, we repair 
to the Old Colony depot, corner of Kneeland and South 
streets, a few minutes before half past four in the afternoon, 
and are soon comfortably seated in the cars. We have an 
opportunity to admire the fine station, with its lofty rotunda, 
its elegant and luxuriously furnished waiting rooms, its im- 
mense arched train house, its courteous ticket sellers and other 



14 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

depot officials, its complete system of designating trains and 
their starting time, so that no one could possibly go astray, 
and the numerous conveniences which all travelers must ap- 
preciate, but which are not often found in such perfection as 
here. If we choose we can fancy ourselves English lords or 
something else as we whirl over the sinooth rails, by taking to 
ourselves a compai-tment in the English coaches which are 
run on the steamboat trains, but if we here have a patriotic 
horror of "blasted Britishers" and their ways, we shall find 
the ordinary cars sufficiently comfortable for the best Yankee 
citizen. We move out of the depot, and out of the city pro- 
per almost simultaneously as we cross Fort Point Channel to 
South Boston, on a pile drawbridge, but though out of the old 
town of Boston, we are not to be outside of the limits of the 
present city of Boston for some time. Crossing the South 
Bay on a causeway and pile bridge, we enter the old town of 
Dorchester, now the Sixteenth Ward, Boston. We successive-* 
ly pass Crescent Avenue, Savin Hill, Harrison Square and 
Neponset stations, all in the Dorchester District, and all on 
the shores of Dorchester Bay, across which fine views of the 
harbor and islands are obtained. Then we cross the end of 
Milton (Atlantic Station) and enter the famous town of 
Quincy, famous as the home of the Adams family and the 
birthplace of Quincy granite. The three stations in this town 
are Wollaston Heights, Quincy and Quincy Adams, respec- 
tively 62, 8 and 82 miles from Boston. The Qiiincy station is 
near the homestead of the Adams family. Then Braintree is 
passed, whence the South Shore division branches off to 
the eastward, passing through Weymouth, Hingham, Co- 
hasset, Scituate and Mansfield to Duxbury, and thence to 
Plymouth by a short connecting branch, and we draw up 
for a moment at South Braintree, 11^ miles from Boston. 
Here is a general junction, as three divisions of the road 
branch off here, one via the Abingtons, Hanson, Hali- 
fax, Plympton and Kingston to Plymouth, with a branch 
diverging from South Abington to Bridgewater on the sec- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 5 

ond or Cape Cod Division. This division taking South 
Braintree as its point of departure, passes through Holbrook, 
East Stoughton, Brockton, Brjdgewater, Middleboro, (whence 
two branches lead to the westward, one to Weir Junction, 
near Taunton, the other via Mjricks, where the New Bedford 
Railroad is crossed, to Somerset Junction, forming a connec- 
tion with the third or Fall River and Newport Division, jet to 
be described, through South Middleboro, Tremont (con- 
necting with the Fairhaven Branch Railroad to New Bedford), 
Wareham, Cohasset Narrows (hence still another branch runs 
south via Falmouth to Woods' Hole, where the Martha's Vine- 
yard and Nantucket steamer is taken), Sandwich, Barnstable, 
Yarmouth (where a little branch runs south to Hyannis Port, 
on the south side of the Cape, a watering place of some note), 
then along the sandy ridge known as Cape Cod, through 
Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, and 
Truro, to the extreme curving tip of the Cape, the fishing town 
of Provincetown, 120 miles from Boston. The third division 
is the one with which we have to do, and we take the most 
westerly course of the three from South Bi-aintree. We pass 
through Holbrook, 14I miles from Boston, a " shoe town," 
Stoughton, North Easton, Easton, and Raynham, in which 
latter place the first forge in America was set up by the 
Leonard brothers, in 1652, and soon enter the station at Taun- 
ton, 34 miles from Boston. This is a city of some 20,000 
inhabitants, on the Taunton river, which furnishes the power 
for many manufactories, thus disproving the ancient libel that 
Taunton water was too weak to run down hill. Miss Eliza- 
beth Pool, of Taunton in Somersetshire, England, founded 
and named this city in the early days of the colony, but it 
was only a pretty hamlet in 1810. Now, there are the im- 
mense Mason Locomotive Works, the Taunton Car Works, 
the various tack manufactories which turn out about the only 
kind of tax popular with the public, the Taunton Copper 
Works, several brick manufactories, foundries, cotton mills 
and an extensive Britannia-ware manufactory. The centre of 



1 6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

the citj is the Green, a neat square, with fine buildings front- 
ing upon it. Near bj are the buildings and grounds of the 
State Lunatic Asylum, a pleasant and popular Summer resort, 
the City Hall, Public Library and several fine stone churches. 
Taunton is a quiet and thrifty place, and much pleasanter to the 
visitor than its younger and more energetic sister, Fall River. 
Weir Junction, where the New Bedford Railroad crosses our 
track. Weir, North Dighton, Dighton (near which the famous 
Dighton Rock, with its supposed Icelandic inscription is 
found), and Somerset are successively passed, and we arrive at 
Fall River, 50 miles from Boston. 

Fall Hiver and its Factories. 

Here is the great spindle city of the country, ranking even 
Lowell. The mills stand in rows, one above the other, along 
the steep banks of the river which falls 136 feet in half a mile, 
and so thickly are they studded along this magnificent wuter- 
power that they completely hide it from view. Many of the 
mills, however, are run by steam-power. Print cloths are the 
principal manufacture, though all kinds of cotton goods and 
some woolens, are made. Over .$10,000,000 are invested in 
the Fall River mills, and they furnish employment for over 
20,000 operatives. Most of the factories are massive granite 
structures and rank among the finest of their class. The sad 
disaster at the Granite Mill, No. i, in the Autumn of 1874, by 
which 20 or more operatives were suftbcated in the burning 
structure, or leaped from the windows to a cruel death on the 
pavements below, is fresh in everyone's mind. Fall River is 
solidly built along the shore of Mount Hope Bay, with Mount 
Hope itself looming up on the other shore. The boundary 
line of Rhode Island passes just south of the city; formerly it 
divided it, but Massachusetts ceded some land around Paw- 
tucket to " Litle Rhody," and secured the whole of the " Bor- 
der City" for herself The Fall River, Warren and Provi- 
dence Railroad runs hence, northwest, to Providence, 16 
miles. At Fall River, our train runs down to an extensive 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I 7 

wharf, alongside which, with steam up, lies the magnificent 

steamer Bristol or Providence, waiting to convey us to New 

York. These vessels, which are perfect counterparts of each 

other, have exhausted the praises of hosts of writers. For 

size, speed, beauty and luxury of appointments, they are 

among the finest steamers ever launched, and each Summer 

the crowds that patronize them attest their popularity. A fine 

military band on each trip performs selections on deck, and 

also dance music in the saloon, and the hours of the evening 

often wane into the "wee sma' hours ayant the twal," before 

the happy voyagers seek their sumptuous stateroom couches. 

From Fall River, our course is across Mount Hope Bay and 

into that of Narragansett, down Avhich we steam for 20 miles, 

and round into the harbor of Newport. The sail down the 

Bay is most exhilarating and delightful, much more so than 

the ride by rail from Fall River, via Tiverton, Bristol Ferry, 

where the track crosses a narrow strait to the upper end of 

Rhode Island (the island, not the State), and then down to 

Newport, which occupies the southwestern portion of the 

island. 

!N"ewport and its Attractions. 

This famous watering place, famous alike for its mild and 
equable climate, its magnificent ocean views and its refined 
and cultured society, can have but an imperfect mention here. 
A volume alone could do it justice. Indeed, many volumes 
have been devoted to the task and have only in part succeed- 
ed. Newport is one of the oldest of American summer re- 
sorts, and will always hold its preeminence, though since the 
war, the decline of Southern travel has tended to change the 
preponderaiice of the transient population from the great ho- 
tels to the magnificent villas or the cosy cottages that spring 
up like the work of enchanters all over the peninsula; from 
mere butterflies of fashion to refined and elegant summer 
residents. In the i6th century, Verrazani, a Florentine, vis- 
ited this spot and wrote of its beauties, but even his landing 
is antedated by that of the Norsemen, if the testimony of the 



l8 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

old stone tower in Touro Park may be credited. This won- 
derful ruin, which has set all the antiquarians by the ears for 
centuries, is a circular structure of stone, supported on round 
arches, and now covered with ivy and enclosed by an iron 
fence It certainly does not bear out in construction, mater- 
ial or style of architecture the theory that a colonial governor 
built it for a wind-mill, in the i7th century, neither is there 
any record that such was the case, and the opinion generally 
accepted is that it was a watch-tower, built by the Norsemen 
who are supposed to have settled this section in the nth cen- 
tury ; the same who inscribeil the Dighton rock. Its elevated 
locality, its workmanship and its style of architecture all tend 
to bear out this supposition. It is naturally one of the chief 
points of interest in Newport, and standing as it does, in 
front of the Atlantic House and near the centre of the city, 
is observed by all visitors. The old town, built around a fine 
harbor opening from Narragansett Bay, is a sleepy, antique- 
looking old burgh, with several buildings dating back before 
the Revolution, and a general air of inusty tradition. The 
new town, on the elevated ground encircling the old part, and 
on the ocean shore forming the southern extremity of the 
island, is the fashionable Newport. Here are the magnificent, 
broad, hard, smooth and tree-bordered avenues, brilliant each 
afternoon with processions of stylish equipages; here are the 
splendid villas and the elegant cottages which the wealthy 
Summer residents from New York and Boston yearly occupy ; 
here is the abode of the society which gives Newport its chief- 
est charm. It is not a place for a visit of a week or so, like 
Saratoga or Long Branch. One doesn't get into the ways of 
the habihies in that time, and one needs to visit Newport 
often, and stay a long time, to become familiar with its attrac- 
tions and to enjoy its advantages. 

The Sound Trip to New York. 

But we have no time to revel in the delights even of New- 
port, and whether we have come hither by boat from Fall River, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 9 

or being delajed have taken the later through express to 
Newport, we must be promptly on board our splendid craft 
which is impatiently snorting at her moorings. At last we 
are off, and steaming out of the harbor, between Goat Island 
(the seat of the United States naval torpedo station), and Fort 
Adams, on a point partially enclosing the harbor, we pass 
between Rhode and Conanicut Islands, into the Atlantic- 
Rounding Point Judith, famed in the past for rough weather 
and universally seasick passengers, but now, with immense 
steamers and the highest degree of comfort, little feared, we 
skirt along the coast of the mainland, with the state of Rhode 
Island on both sides of us, which seeming paradox is ex- 
plained by the fact that while the state proper lies to the 
north. Block Island, noted for its codfishery, and belonging 
to the same gorgeous little State, lies to the southward some 
ten miles. Soon we pass Fisher's Island on the right and 
Long Island begins to overlap us on the far left. We pass 
the mouths of the Thames and the Connecticut, and lay our 
course straight up the Sound, arriving in the East River at 
early dawn, and at our pier, No. 28 North River, about sun- 
rise. From New York up the Hudson, our route as is des- 
cribed in Chapter II. 

The IsTorwich Line to Saratoga. 

By the Norwich line of steamers, a very direct and easy 
route is afforded us from the Hub to the metropolis. For in- 
formation, tickets or staterooms, we shall apply at the office of 
the line, 219 Washington Street, where we shall find every re- 
quired conrtesy and facility, and sometime before 6 P. M., if 
we propose to go via New York and New England Railroad, 
or before 5 : 30 P. M., if we go via Boston and Albany, we 
shall be on board the cars. By the latter course, we go direct 
to Worcester, thence over the Norwich and Worcester Divis- 
ion of the New York and New England, through Auburn, 
Oxford and Webster, Mass., and Thompson, Conn., to Put- 
nam, Conn., 61 miles from Boston, where the train by the 



20 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

main line of the New York and New England joins us, and 
whence we proceed to Norwich and New London. Bj the 
New York and New England, we leave the station, foot 
•of Summer Street, at 6 P. M., and trundling across the 
famous South Boston flats, on a causewav, we dash through 
South Boston in a deep trough underneath the streets and 
at the very roots of the houses, cross the South Bay and 
the line of the Old Colony, traverse the Dorchester District 
in a different direction and further inland than the Old Colo- 
ny, passing the Stoughton Street, Bird Street, Mount Bow- 
doin, Dorchester and Mattapan stations, before we get outside 
the city limits. All these stations are in the midst of delight- 
ful rural scenery and have neat and attractive station houses 
and tasteful surroundings. Hyde Park, a station in the new 
and flourishing town of the same name, eight miles out, comes 
next, and then Readville, in the same town, where the line 
■crosses that of the Boston and Providence. Then come Elm- 
wood, Springvale and Ellis stations, all in the town of Ded- 
ham and all within thirteen miles of Boston. Dedham, the 
shire town of Norfolk county, is a quiet old borough with a 
considerable village in which stands the elegant court-house. 
In the township are several factories, power for which is af- 
forded by "Mother Brook" so-called, though it is really not a 
Ijrook, but a canal, and the oldest one on the continent. It 
was made in 1640, and its design was to increase the naviga- 
ble facilities of Neponset River by diverting into it part of the 
waters of the Charles. It is three miles long, with 60 feet fall. 
Norwood, in the town of the same name, formerly South Ded- 
ham, Everett's, Winslow's and Tilton's stations are successive- 
ly passed in the next four miles. All are thriving suburban 
villages, possessing much rural beauty, and all are largely 
inhabited by people doing business in Boston. Next comes 
Walpole,i9 miles from Boston, where the Mansfield and Fram- 
ingham Division of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Rail- 
road crosses our track and affords through connections with 
Providence, New Bedford, Lowell and the north. Next comes 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 21 

thet own of Norfolk, formerly North Wrentham, noted for it& 
straw factories, with the several stations of Campbell's, Nor- 
folk and City Mills. Franklin is next, 27 miles from Boston, 
a town named for the immortal "Poor Richard," and hy him 
presented with a valuable library. Wadsworth is the next 
station, and then Mill River Junction, 33 miles from Boston, 
a business centre of some importance from the fact of the 
Woonsocket Division, — which leaves Boston from the Boston 
& Albany Depot, and pursues a route through Brookline, 
Newton, Needham, Medfield, Medway and Bellingham — here 
crosses the main line, and affords connection with the great 
manufacturing village of Woonsocket, just over the Rhode 
Island line. Our next station is Blackstone, 36 miles from 
Boston, an important manufacturing village, just across the 
river (and the State line) froin Woonsocket. Here the Provi- 
dence and Worcester Railroad crosses our line, and affords yet 
another set of through connections. Our course now turns 
slightly to the northward, and we skim along through the 
southernmost towns of Worcester county, Blackstone, Ux- 
bridge and Douglas, with the stations of Millville, Ironstone, 
East Douglas, and Douglas, all inside of 50 miles from the 
Hub. 

Througli Rhode Island and into Connecticut. 

Then we trend southwest again, cut off a tiny corner of the 
northwestern town of Rhode Island, Burrillville, and cross 
into Connecticut, entering the northeastern town of that 
Commonwealth, Thompson. East Thompson is the station, 
and hence a branch 18 miles long runs northwest through 
Webster and Dudley to Southbridge, Mass., connecting at 
Webster with the Norwich and Worcester division. Our 
route next takes us through Thompson and Mechanicsville to 
Putnam, 59 miles from Boston. Here the Norwich and Wor- 
cester Division crosses the main line, and here is a large and 
commodious station, with all facilities for the comfort of pas- 
sengers waiting for trains, and a good restaurant where an 



22 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

excellent dinner can be procured when desired. From Put- 
nam the main road runs by Pomfret, Abington, Eliot's, 
Hampton, Goshen, and North Windham stations, among the 
most wild and romantic scenery of Tolland County, to Wil- 
liamantic, the great railroad centre of Eastern Connecticut. 
Here the New London Northern Railroad from New London, 
Conn., to Grout's Corner, Mass., the Hartford, Piovidence 
and Fishkill Railroad from Providence to Waterbury, Conn., 
(which is designed to be one division of the New York and 
New England through line) and the New Haven, Middletown 
and Willimantic Railroad, which forms a direct connection 
with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and 
New Haven, and thus completes the New York and Boston 
Air Line, (all rail.) 

From Putnam to Norwich. 

But our course does not take us to Willimantic, this time, 
as we turn to the left at Putnam, onto the track of the Nor- 
wich and W^orcester Division, which, coming from Worcester, 
26 miles north, through the towms of Auburn, Oxford and 
Webster, Mass., and Thompson, Conn., now continues to the 
south through the town of Killingly, noted for Indian legends 
and traditions of the old colonial days. It is a rich n:ianufac- 
turing town, having large woolen and cotton mills at Days- 
ville and atDanielsonville, which latter is the principal village 
of the town, where two or three weekly papers are published, 
and Avhere the arrival of a train brings together nearly the 
entire floating population at the station. Wauregan comes 
next, a small station, the village being some distance west, on 
the Quinebaug river, which furnishes power for the large 
Wauregan cotton mills, and near the pretty Quinebaug Pond, 
three miles long, connected with which is a legend that once 
in seven years, at midnight, a pillar of fire (known as the 
Narragansetts' fishing light), rises over the centre of the lake. 
The object of this apparition is not stated by the old settlers 
who claim to have seen it, but as they still live, apparently it 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 23 

is not a dangerous omen. We now pass into the town of 
Plainfield, with Central Village, a large cotton manufacturing 
hamlet, as our first stopping place, and then Plainfield Junc- 
tion, iS miles from Putnam, 7S from Boston, where we cross 
the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad. At Jewett 
Citj, a small station six iniles further on, we cross the Quine- 
baug river, and soon after pass through a tunnel 300 feet long, 
cut from the solid rock. Greenville, eight miles further south- 
west, is a large manufacturing village on the Shetucket river, 
which we have crossed a mile or two back, near the point 
where the Quinebaug empties into it. From this point we 
follow the right bank of the Shetucket, two miles, and arrive 
in Norwich, the principal city of eastern Connecticut, and the 
shiretown of New London County. 

Norwicli, its Peculiarities and its Beauties. 

Norwich is 94 miles from Boston, and is built on a loftj 
promontory between the Shetucket and Yantic rivers, which 
here unite to form the majestic Thames, and on the alluvial 
ground at the foot of the steep acclivity. In its location and 
configuration Norwich much resembles Quebec. No other 
place on this continent probably has a more commanding 
situation, or a more delightful overlook. In the construction 
of the town, also, Norwich is much like G^ebec, barring the 
wall and the citadel of the latter. The commercial streets run 
along the Shetucket front, whose wharves are crowded with 
shipping ; the residence streets are terraced one above another 
on the overhanging bluff, to which zig-zag lines of streets 
lead up like the "switchbacks" on a coal railroad. The 
promontory points to the south and from its summit, crowned 
with handsome villas, the view of the noble Thames which 
expands from its very foot and stretches way to the Sound, 
fifteen miles south, is charming and grand. Norwich, in 
consequence of its site at the head of the navigable waters 
of the Thames has an extensive commerce with coastwise 
ports and with the West Indies, while by its propinquity 



24 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

to the great cotton manufactories of Eastern Connecticut 
it enjoys a large trade in those articles. From the low ground 
on the river banks, near which the railway station stands, the 
view of the town is confused and meagre ; one seems to be 
looking up into an overhanging mass of houses, with no 
regularity, but as one becomes acquainted with the place, 
and traverses its entire extent, it is seen to be a symmetrical 
and pleasing city of some 20,oco inhabitants, making consid- 
erable pretension to architectural beauty, and abounding in 
delightful walks and drives. By reason of its peculiar config- 
uration, Norwich is one of the most oddly built cities,, in its 
business portion, of any in the world, and has been made the 
subject of no end of jokes on this account. Norwich is the 
original town where the people of one street look from their 
kitchen doors down their neighbor's chimneys on the next 
street and see what they are cooking for breakfast ; where a 
man steps out of his garret window into another man's back 
door yard, and where the cellar of one house drains on to 
the roof of the next below. Without joking, some business 
blocks which stand three stories high on Main street are six 
stories high on the next street, if they run through the block, 
as some do; while on the other, or up-hill side of Main street, 
a block three or four stories high is so built into the solid 
rock of the hill that you have to go up two flights of stairs 
before you see daylight at the rear, and the back yard is only 
accessible from the upper floor. As may be supposed, streets 
do not run up and down the hill, but around its side, gradu- 
ally climbing upward, and instead of cross-streets, there are 
flights of stairs by which pedestrians get from one street to 
another, while vehicles have to take the long gradients and 
sharp angles by which the streets communicate at their ex- 
tremities. Climbing above the business portion of the city, 
Washington street runs along the west side of the promon- 
tory, overlooking the Yantic and bordered on either side by 
magnificent lawns, on which, far back from the street, stand 
the statelv mansions of the merchant princes. Broadway 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 2 5 

extends from the business center, nearly parallel with Wash- 
ington street, but on the eastern side, and is less imposing in 
the matter of residences, and more like a citj street, and both 
open upon the parade, (also known as Williams Park) a 
splendid field on the level plateau surmounting the bluffs, 
bordered with magnificent elms, and surrounded by elegant 
residences, among which is that of ex-Senator Lafayette S. 
Foster and the old home of General Williams of Revolu- 
tionary fame. On one side stands the noble building of the 
Free Academy which possesses a wide reputation, and broad 
streets diverge in various directions. Sachem street leads to 
the Falls of the Yantic, formerly a wild and romantic cataract, 
through a water worn gorge in the eternal rock, and over 
curiously grouped and massive boulders. The diversion of 
the water of the river by a dam above into an artificial chan- 
nel, has left the rocky foundation of the Falls bare, except in 
seasons of freshets, yet the spot is always well-worthy a visit. 
But though the demands of business have thus marred the 
beauty of the Falls, they have widely increased their financial 
value. The artificial channel furnishes power for a score of 
extensive factories which manufacture paper, cottons, rubber 
goods and almost every thing else, and form the nucleus of 
the thriving Falls Village. Near the Falls is the old Indian 
cemetery, the burial-place for many ages of the Mohegan 
chiefs. Here is the monument to Uncas, the famous Mohegan 
Sachem, the steady friend of the whites, and with his army 
of trained warriors their most efficient ally against the Pe- 
quots, Narragansetts and King Phillip's confederation. Uncas 
was originally a Pequot chief, who in 1634 revolted against 
the Sachem Sassacus and joined the Mohegans. They made 
him Sachem and he brought the nation to the highest point 
among the tribes, and after ruling 50 years, died in 1683. ^^ 
1640 he sold the site of the present city to the colonists, for 
£70. Near Greenville, which is reached by horse-cars from 
Norwich, is the Sachem's Plain, where Uncas with 500 Mohe- 
gans defeated and killed Miantonomah, Sachem of the Nar- 
2 



26 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

ragansetts with 900 warriors. Five miles south of Norwich 
is Mohegan, the site of the fortress of Uncas, and here live 
the few half-breeds who represent the famous tribe. 

From Norwich to !N"ew York. 

From Norwich to the New ""York steamers, there are two 
routes, sometimes one and sometimes the other being used. 
By the first we cross the Shetucket near the upper end of the 
citj, and proceed down the east bank of the Thames, through 
portions of the towns of Preston and Ledjard to Allyn's 
Point in the latter town, where are extensive wharves and 
depots for the eastern terminus of the Norwich and New York 
Transportation Company's fine steamers^jCity of Boston and 
City of New York. These boats rank among the finest and 
swiftest on the sound, and their course being entirely "in- 
side" and sheltered by Long Island, the route is a favorite 
with many tor whom seasickness has terrors. The other 
means of reaching the boats is via New London Northern 
Railroad to New London, thirteen miles, along the west bank 
of the Thames. The road follows the waterside closely, 
running at the foot of the steep and lofty banks most of the 
way, and the view from the windows at the left side of the 
train is of surpassing beauty. The stations are Thamesville, 
Waterford and New London, at which last place the train 
runs down upon a long covered wharf, alongside which lie 
the boats. 

New London is a city of about 10,000 inhabitants, which 
has one of the finest harbors in the world, and in the days of 
the whale fishery was only second to New Bedford as an oil 
city. Of late it is one the sleepiest of decayed seaports, its 
wealth being mainly that accumulated by the whaling masters 
of a generation ago, safely invested. Its location, on a broad, 
gentle slope, is naturally very fine, and in the upper part of 
the city there are many fine residences and some handsome 
public buildings, but the business portion of the town is old- 
fashioned, out-of-repair, dirty and unattractive. The fishing 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 2^ 

and coasting interests and railroad connections are the princi- 
pal sources of the prosperity (such as it is) of New London. 
It is a delightful resort in summer, despite the drawbacks 
mentioned, bj reason of its natural advantages. The aristo- 
cratic Pequot House stands at the mouth of the Thames, some 
three miles south of the citj, near the lighthouse, and other 
summer hotels are found in vicinity. Sailing, fishing and 
bathing are of the best and easily attainable, and steamers 
run daily to Watch Hill, Norwich, Sag Harbor and Hartford. 
Between the city and the mouth of the river, on a projecting 
rocky peninsula, stands Fort Trumbull, a massive granite for- 
tress, inanned by a small garrison, and on the east side of the 
river in the town of Groton, is a strong water battery. Near 
this point on the bights is the site of old Fort Griswold, 
captured in 1781 by a detachment of the force which under 
the renegade Benedict Arnold burned New London. The 
fort was defended valorously by 150 militiamen under Colonel 
Ledyard, who on surrendering his sword to the tory Captain 
Bloomfield, was run through the body with it, and the Ameri- 
can prisoners were all at once massacred by their cowardyl 
captors. The story is familiar to every child who has studied 
the History of the United States. On the spot stands a fine 
granite shaft 127 feet high and 26 feet square at the base; a 
monument to the slaughtered militia. Above the city is the 
newest of our navy yards, secured by the Connecticutd elega- 
tion in Congress only after a severe struggle, and still in a 
rudimentary state. Besides the New London Northern, the 
Shore Line Division of the New York, New Haven and Hart- 
fort|Railroad has its eastern terminus here, forming a link in 
the Shore Line route from Boston to the metropolis. A ferry 
across the Thames to Groton conveys the cars back and forth. 
Whichever route we take from Norwich, we will suppose 
ourselves safely on board the steamer and passing out of the 
Thames river by Fort Trumbull and the tall lighthouse, into 
the Sound. Moving to the right, we pursue the same general 
course as has been described for the other lines, and reach 



28 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, 

New York early in the morning, where the Hudson river 
steamer is taken for Albany, as will be narrated. 

The Shore Line Route to Saratoga. 

The Boston and New York Shore Line is another favorite 
route from the Hub to the great city of Gotham, and by many 
travellers preferred to any other. We take the cars at the 
magnificent Boston and Providence station, and ptu'sue the 
same course to Stonington as has been laid out in the descrip- 
tion of the Stonington steamboat line. From Stonington we 
pass through Mystic, a small but thriving village, whose 
principal industry is ship-building, West Mystic, Noank, 
Pequonnock Switch and Groton, to New London, a distance 
of twelve miles. Near Mystic are Pequot Hill and Fort 
Hill, ancient strongholds of the Pequot Indians, who caused 
ovir colonial forefathers so much trouble. The former for- 
tress was stormed in 1637 ^J ^ handful of settlers and a 
force of Mohegans under Uncas and Narragansetts under 
Miantonomah (this was before these sachems had fallen 
out) and the six hundred Pequot warriors were put to the 
sword. The view of the Thames river, the Sound and 
the neighboring country from Fort Hill is particularly fine. 
At Groton we get a fine view of the monument on the right, 
and soon the cars run down a gradual incline upon the im- 
mense ferry-boat which is in waiting to convey us across the 
river to New London. A large dining-hall is arranged on the 
upper deck, over the cars, and a capital hot dinner is served 
to passengers who desire during the transit. From New Lon- 
don we follow the shore of Long Island Sound, getting 
occasional fine land-and-water-scapes from the windows on 
the left. The shores are inostly low and sedgy, but there are 
some bold, rocky projections, and groves of fine trees. We 
pass through the towns of Waterford, East Lyme and Old 
Lyme (stations, Waterford, East Lyme, South Lyme, Black- 
hall, Lyme and Connecticut river) crossing at East Lyme the 
Niantic Bay, an arm of the Sound, on which is the beautiful 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 29 

village of Niantic, much frequented in summer, and provided 
with several good hotels and boarding houses. Boating and 
fishing are the principal attractions, and marvellous stories 
are told of the numbers of tautog and striped bass taken 
here. 

An Historic Old Town. 

We cross the Connecticut river bj a covered truss bridge and 
enter the famous old town of Saybrook, at the station of the 
same name ; the Connecticut Valley Railroad crosses our track, 
following the course of the Connecticut river from Hartford 
to its mouth, at Saybrook Point, near which is its terminal 
station of Fenwick Hall, a fine new summer hotel, with seve- 
ral handsome outlying cottages, and splendid views of river, 
Sound and shore, excellent bathing, fishing and sailing facili- 
ties, direct railroad communication, and the quiet elm shaded 
streets of the venerable hamlet of Old Saybrook near by. 
Saybrook Point was the site of an old fort built in 1635, and 
which was obliterated by the cutting through of the railroad. 
In 1636, Colonel Fenwick came from England and took 
command, bringing with him, his wife who died in 1648, 
and whose grave, marked by a rude stone, remained until 
1872, when the ashes of Lady Fenwick were disinterred with 
considerable ceremony, conveyed to the cemetery and depo- 
sited beneath a monument. Saybrook was a place of note in 
colonial days, and the old fort did much service in repelling 
hostile fleets. Yale College was at first located in Saybrook, 
being chartered in 1701 and holding its first fifteen "com- 
mencements" here. In 1708 the celebrated Saybrook Plat- 
form was drawn up here, for the guidance of the college. We 
next pass through Westbrook, Clinton, Madison and Guil- 
ford, quiet farming towns, with watering places on the shores 
of the Sound, and come to Stony Creek, off which are the 
Thimble Islands, famous in tradition, and romantic in scen- 
ery. 



30 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

The Romantic Thimble Islands. 

Stony Creek has several small summer hotels, and a fleet of 
fine yachts lies in its little haven, for the accommodation of 
sailing parties or of visitors to the islands. These Thimble 
Islands are chiefly owned by New York and New Haven 
people, who have cottages of more or less simplicity upon 
them for their vacation residences. The group numbers 365, 
it is said, and all are rocky, bold prominences, rising out of 
deep water, and mostly covered with trees. The channels 
between the islands, by their depth of water and being 
sheltered from the winds by the islands, afford a safe haven to 
yachts and fishing vessels in storms, and many sail nightly 
make harbor among the isles. The pirate Captain Kidd fre- 
quently put in here, and Money island, the largest of the 
group, has been dug all over for the treasure he is fabled to 
have buried here. A small hotel has been built here by the 
owner, and most of the island laid out in building lots which 
have been bought up and occupied with small cottages. On 
Pot Island, the loftiest and best wooded of the group, is another 
summer hotel, where good living, pure air, the best of bath- 
ing and excellent views of the Sound can be had at a low 
price. The oysters which are taken from the waters of Stony 
Creek harbor and among the islands, are of wonderful size 
and flavor, and they form the staple of every meal if desired. 
Branford is the next station to Stony Creek, and is the- point 
of departure for several popular summer resorts, Indian Neck, 
Pine Orchard, Branford Point and Double Beach, at each of 
which are one or more comfortable and moderate priced hotels. 
We next pass through East Haven, cross Saltonstall Lake, 
(whence the city of New Haven procures the most of its ice, 
and where a part of the Yale College class races are rowed) 
the Quinnipiack river, and passing through Fairhaven, (the 
great oyster mart of the section, and now one of the wards of 
New Haven) soon roll into the under-ground station in the 
heart of the Elm City. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 3 1 

K"ew Haven and its Environs. 

New Haven is the largest citj in Connecticut, and up to 
1873, when Hartford was very sensibly made the sole capital, 
divided the honors of the seat of government with that city. 
It has almost 6o,cxx) inhabitants, is a thriving manufacturing 
and commercial town, and is famous for its magnificent elm 
trees, which line nearly every street. In the center of the 
city is the Green, a handsome public square, surrounded by 
elms and containing the old Center church, Trinity church 
and the North church, all ancient and venerable, and in 
their rear, on a gentle rise, the Old State House, now useless, 
a shabby old structure of brick and plaster, in the Doric style 
of architecture. Chapel street, the main business avenue, 
runs along one side of the Green, Elm street on the oppo- 
site, and they are intersected at right angles by Church 
street (on which stands the splendid City Hall), and College 
street completing the sides of the square, which is the size 
of four city blocks. Temple street, a broad thoroughfare, 
bordered by grand elms whose branches unite in a splendid 
gothic arch above it, traverses the Green midway between 
Church and College streets. Above College street are the 
grounds of Yale College and its fine and extensive buildings. 
This famous college, removed here in 1717 from Saybrook, 
is one of the chief seats of learning in this country, and its 
edifices number some fifteen large structures, besides several 
small society buildings and those of the Scientific, Law, 
Medical and Theological schools connected with the Univer- 
sity. The Art Gallery is one of the finest and most exten- 
sive in the country, and the museums,, reading rooms and 
other accessories are fully supplied and of a high order. 

Manufactures, Suburbs, and Means of Transportation. 

The manufactures of New Haven are so extensive and 
varied as to preclude particular mention in a work of this 
kind. The principal are firearms, of which the Winchester 



3^ TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

Repeating Arms Company and the Whitney Rifle Company 
turn out immense quantities; church and parlor organs, 
pianos, carriages, agricultural implements, hardware, rail- 
road cars, etc., etc. The city also enjoys an extensive West 
India and coastwise commerce, and is a very wealthy and 
intellectual city. The streets abound in handsome residences, 
nearly all of which, even in the heart of the town, have con- 
siderable grounds around them. On the avenues radiating 
from the business centre, are many splendid mansions, 
notably on Hillhouse avenue, at the head of which is "Sa- 
chem's Wood," a noble villa, surrounded by a park, the 
property of the Hillhouse family. There is a fine drive on 
the east side of the bay, at the head of which the city stands, 
by Forts Hale and Worcester, to the lighthouse, five miles 
from the city, at the entrance to the Sound. Savin Rock, four 
miles from the city, at the west side of the mouth of the bay 
is another resort. The road thither passes through the quiet 
old village of West Haven. The rock is a bold projection, 
near which is a fine beach, with a Summer hotel. East Rock 
and West Rock, some two miles inland from the city, are 
lofty, precipitous masses of trap rock, rising from the plain, 
from the summits of which grand views are obtained. Horse 
cars run to the base of each, and they are much visited. 
Near West Rock is Maltby Park, where is located the city 
water- works. There is a fine series of drive-ways in this park, 
which covers some 800 acres. Besides the Shore Line Divi- 
sion, the main line of the New York, New Haven and Hart- 
ford Railroad, the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic, 
the New Haven and Northampton, or Canal Railroad, and 
the New Haven and Derby Railroad, all converge in the 
underground station, which will soon be a thing of the past, 
as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad is now 
building near the basin at the head of the harbor, a magnifi- 
cent depot, which will be, when completed, one of the finest 
in New England. Steamers run to New York twice daily, 
forming still another route to the metropolis, and small boats 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 7^^ 

plj daily, in Summer, to the various resorts in the neighbor- 
hood. 

From Wew Haven to KTew York. 

From New Haven we travel by the main line of the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, which forms with 
the Boston and Albany the Express Line ; with the New 
Haven, Middletown and Willimantic and New York and New 
England the Air Line ; and with the roads by which we have 
come the Shore Line — all three direct all-rail express lines 
froin New York to Boston. By whichever route he comes 
from Boston the traveller is transported from New Haven 
over the one trunk line, which, rolling out of the depot under- 
neath the busy streets of the city, skirts the shore of New 
Haven bay in a southwesterly direction, passing through 
West Haven, Milford and Stratford, quiet country villages 
with broad, elm-shaded streets. We cross the Housatonic river, 
which divides the two last named towns, and are soon in 
Bridgeport, the fifth city in population of Connecticut, and 
one of the most extensive manufacturing centers of New Eng- 
land. Here are the sewing machine factories of Elias Howe, 
Jr., and Wheeler &^ Wilson, each employing several hundred 
hands and turning out many thousands of machines every 
year; a number of arms and aminunition manufactories, 
clock shops, and indeed manufactories of nearly all sorts of 
"Yankee notions," But Bridgeport's chief fame is that it is 
the birthplace of P. T. Barnum and Tom Thumb, and the 
former has a splendid mansion, Windermere, on the south 
side of the city, overlooking the Seaside Park, with its fine 
esplanade and its charming view of the Sound. Bridgeport 
has bi-daily steamers to New York, and the Naugatuck Rail- 
road runs north-east to Waterbury, 62 miles, and the Housa- 
tonic north no miles to Pittsfield, Mass. Bridgeport is 18 
miles from New Haven and 178 from Boston. We next pass 
through Fairfield, an ancient and quiet seaside village, which 
is rich in Indian and Revolutionary tradition, having been 



34 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

burned in 1779 bj Trjon's Hessian Yagers, returning from a 
raid on New Haven. Southport, two miles further along, is 
chiefly famous for an Indian fight some 250 years ago, and 
has done nothing notable since. Westport is a young and 
vigorous village on the Naugatuck, and South Norwalk, 14 
miles from Bridgeport and 192 from Boston, with its neigh- 
boring village of Norwalk, is the largest place between Bridge- 
port and New York. The chief manufactures are locks, knobs 
and hats, and the principal other trade, oyster raising and 
shipping. The magnificent million-dollar palace of the late 
Le Grand Lockwood stands near the village. At the draw- 
bridge which we cross just before reaching the station, the 
fearful accident by which a train was precipitated into the river, 
took place, and caused the passage of the law now enforced, 
coiupelling the stopping of all trains before reaching a draw- 
bridge. From South Norwalk, the Danbury and Norwalk Rail- 
road runs north 24 miles to Danbury, the great hatting village 
of^the country and the home of James M. Bailey, the Danbury 
News man ; indeed of the Danbury News itself. Darien and 
Noroton coine next, the latter being the site of Fitch's Home 
for Soldiers' Orphans, founded by Benjamin Fitch, with its 
fine library and art gSiWevy. Stamford, 200 miles from Boston 
and 34 from New York, a very handsome village, is a great 
watering place with wealthy New Yorkers, and their cottages 
dot the hillsides on every hand. The New Canaan Railroad 
runs north-east to the adjoining town of the Biblical name, a 
distance of eight miles. Like old Canaan, it is " a land flow- 
ing with milk and honey," or would be if bee-farming were 
carried on, as it is a great cow country. From Stamford also, 
communication is had with New York by steamer. Cos Cob, 
near which Edwin Booth has a fine villa ; Greenwich, where 
Israel Putnam performed his daring equestrian feat of riding 
his horse down stairs, and where are several fine churches 
and the famous Americus Club house of the Tammany ring, 
are next passed, and then we cross the frontier into New York 
State. Port Chester is the first station in the Empire State, 



TOURISl'S' HANDBOOK. 35 

a thriving village 27 miles from New York. Rje comes next, 
then Mamaroneck and New Rochelle, whence the Harlem 
River Branch diverges slightly from the main line, and runs 
to the Harlem river, through a number of the villages of West 
Chester County, which furnish residences formany New York 
business men. Our train passes rapidly by the stations of 
Pelhamville and Mount Vernon, whence we turn south-west 
and traverse the tracks of the Harlem Railroad, passing 
through the upper portion of New York City, with its shanty- 
crowned rocks, on which a large population of rag-pickers, 
pigs and goats sustain an unenviable existence ; soon arrive 
at the numbered streets, and after a short ride draw up in the 
magnificent Grand Central station, 700 feet long, and covering 
three acres of ground. It extends from 42d to 45th streets, 
and half-way from Fourth avenue to Madison avenue. It is 
of brick, stone and iron, with several lofty domes, and miles 
of tracks inside its vast enclosure. Besides our own, the 
Harlem and the Hudson River trains enter and leave this 
depot, and from its vicinity various lines of horse cars and 
stages can be taken to any part of the city, or we can charter 
a hack direct to the pier of the Hudson river steamer which is 
to convey us to Albany. 

The Boston and Ifew York Express Line. 

Another much frequented route from Boston is by the 
New York and Boston Express Line, over the Boston and 
Albany and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- 
roads. Our route to Springfield is described under the head 
of the Boston and Albany route. From Springfield, we turn 
south, following the east bank of the Connecticut river, which 
spreads out from half a mile to a mile wide on our right, 
along the fertile alluvial m?eadows of Longmeadow, the staid 
and quiet village being on the high bluff's to our left. Below 
Longmeadow, near the Enfield Bridge station, and the old 
toll-bridge across the Connecticut, the river passes over a 
series of shalloAv rapids extending for several miles over the 



36 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

red sandstone ledges which form its bed. Near the upper end 
of these rapids, a wing-dam is thrown across the river, and 
diverts the water into a canal on the western side, which fur- 
nishes power for the various manufactories at Windsor Locks, 
some six miles below, where it empties into the river bj a 
series of locks. Light draft, flat-bottomed steamers and scows 
bj ineans of this canal make the voyage from Hartford to 
Springfield with coal, stone, etc. Formerly the traffic was 
very extensive, and embraced also the transportation of pas- 
sengers by two or three daily lines of steamers, the passage 
being graphically portrayed by Dickens in his "American 
Notes." The passenger travel and most of the freighting has 
been monopolized by the railroad, of late years. Thompson- 
ville, nine miles from Springfield, and 107 miles from Boston, 
is a busy manufacturing village on the east bank, in the town 
of Enfield. Here are the mills of the Hartford Carpet Com- 
pany, the largest of the kind in the country, turning out 
nearly 2,000,000 yards annually. In this town of Enfield, the 
northernmost of Connecticut, are also the Hazard Powder 
Works, at Hazardville, and the famous Shaker community. 
At Warehouse Point, four miles south, we cross the Con- 
necticut on a splendid iron bridge, built in England and set 
up here piecemeal on the piers of the old bridge, without 
interruption to travel, in 1866. We soon pass through the 
village of Windsor Locks, with its many paper, silk and iron 
mills, cross the Farmington river on a stone bridge of seven 
arches, pass through Windsor, a handsome old town of great 
fame in Colonial days, and now a great'tobacco-raising town, 
and in a short time enter the brown stone station at Hartford, 
26 miles from Springfield, and 124 from Boston. 

Hartlord and Its Environs. 

Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, is a beautiful city of 
40,000 inhabitants, at the mouth of the Little River, so-called, 
and was settled by the Dutch in 1633, who built a fort at the 
mouth of the Little river, on a point still known as "Dutch 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 37 

Point." Three years later, Thomas Hooker, a Puritan pastor, 
led his little flock through the wilderness from Newtown, and 
established himself here. A little log church was built near 
the present site of the old State House, and was the prede- 
cessor of a number of churches, of which the present lineal 
descendant is the old Center church near the same spot, in 
the burying ground of which rests Hooker's body under a 
stone table. The business center is on several streets parallel 
with the river, and intersected by streets running westward to 
the elevated ground beyond the railroad. The old State House 
stands in a small square at the junction of State and Main 
streets, on the eastern portion of which the United States 
government is building a post office. The new State House, 
a magnificent structure of granite and marble, is building on 
the gentle slope overlooking the City Park, the Little river 
and the railroad, on grounds formerly owned by Trinity Col- 
lege, which is removing to higher and more ample grounds, 
on the hills west of the city. The college is a wealthy Epis- 
copalian institution, founded in 1823. The old buildings were 
of sandstone, with no particular architectural beauty; the new 
edifices will be worthy the college. The City Park is a splen- 
did tract of 45 acres, bordei"ed by the Little river (also called 
Park river) and is laid out in the highest style of landscape 
gardening, and adorned by fountains, statues and an elevated 
stone terrace. The splendid bronze statue of the late Bishop 
Brownell, on an eminence in front of the State House, the 
statue of Israel Putnam, and that to Dr. Welles, the discov- 
erer of ansesthetics are its principal work of art. 

Hartford's Public Buildings. 

In strictly public buildings, Hartford has few of which to 
boast. The new jail in the northwest part of the city is one of 
the handsomest of them, and that is hardly attractive to the 
ordinary visitor. The Wadsworth Athenaeum on Main street 
near the Little river is an old, castellated structure, with a 
gray mastic front, in which are the rooms of the Connecticut 



38 TOURISTS' handbook:. 

Historical Society, including a museum of curiosities, chiefly 
dating back to Revolutionary and colonial times, relics of In- 
dian wars, things that belonged to Israel Putnam, the bloody 
shirt in which Colonel Ledyard was slain, pieces of the Char- 
ter Oak, etc. Speaking of the Charter Oak, every other 
thing you see or hear of in Hartford is " Charter Oak" some- 
thing or other — insurance companies, fire engines, eating 
houses, saloons, etc. Mark Twain says he has seen enough 
" genuine wood of the Charter Oak" to build a plank road to 
Salt Lake City, and he doesn't exaggerate much. The chair of 
the President of the Senate in the Old State House is made of 
the wood, beautifully Qarved, the museum above referred to 
has several pieces, and at least one family in town has a piano 
case made of it. And yet, the spot where the old tree stood 
is marked only by a round marble slab, a foot or so in diame- 
ter on Charter Oak avenue. The High School building on 
Farmington avenue occupies a sightly acclivity, overlooking 
the Park and the river, as well as the railroad and a good 
share of the city, while a little northward, the Blind Asylum 
on Asylum avenue, stands in a fine park, embowered in 
trees. 

Magnificent Private Residences. 

These avenues are largely appropriated by the residences 
of wealthy citizens. The Hon. Marshall Jewell, Postmaster 
General, owns a splendid mansion on Asylum avenue, and 
Mark Twain has the oddest of costly villas on Farmington 
avenue. The Retreat for the Insane is on Retreat avenue in 
the southwestern portion of the city, and to the eastward, on 
Wethersfield avenue is the magnificent estate of Mrs. Samuel 
Colt, widow of the great fire arms inventor. The property 
comprises a large tract of land, laid out as a park, with build- 
ings for every conceivable use of a city mansion and suburban 
villa combined ; conservatories, pheasantry, hot houses, gra- 
peries, and the like ; while trees, fountains and statuary render 
the grounds among the finest in the country. Between this 



TOURISTS* handbook:. 39 

splendid estate and the river (from which it is divided and pro- 
tected bj a djke), stretches the South Meadows, formerly pas- 
turage, and bought very cheap bj Colonel Colt as the site for 
his factories — now the property of the Colt Patent Fire Arms 
Company, of which General William B. Franklin is presi- 
dent. 

Manufactories and other Business Interests. 

On this vast tract, Colonel Colt laid out broad avenues and 
cross streets, surrounded it with a dyke to keep out the river 
in time of freshets, built cottages for his workmen, buildings 
for stores, a public hall, and in fact, laid the foundation of a 
complete village. His death, no doubt, somewhat retarded 
the progress of the new village, but it is still a neat, thriving 
and comfortable settlement, where most of the workmen in 
the arms factory and other industries connected therewith 
reside. On this territory, Mrs. Colt has built, as a memorial 
to her husband and deceased children, a splendid free church, 
of brown and Ohio stone, which for beauty of architecture 
and perfection of detail is probably unequalled by any church 
of its size in this country. The entire expenses are borne by 
this noble lady, who is as good as she is wealthy, and is uni- 
versally beloved for her numberless acts of benevolence and 
Christian charity. Washington street, a broad, handsome 
drive, leading south from Capitol avenue, is bordered on 
either side by magnificent residences, fronted by green and 
velvety lawns. In winter it is the favorite sleighing ground 
of the city, and here the fast 'uns may be seen of an afternoon, 
if snow be on the ground. In its wealth, in proportion to 
population, Hartford stands at the head of the cities of the 
nation, as it does in respect to business buildings. The 
Phoenix Bank, the Connecticut Mutual Life, the Charter Oak 
Life and the Hartford Fire 'Insurance Companies' buildings 
are among the largest and most magnificent and can cope 
with any in the country The insurance business is pre- 
eminently Hartford's source of wealth, though trade, com- 



40 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK:. 

merce and manufactures are largely responsible for the result. 
Besides the Colt works, the Pratt and Whitney Company, 
machinists, the Roper Arms Company, the Weed Sewing 
Machine Company, the Sharpe Arms Company and many 
other manufactories do a thriving business. Steamers run 
daily to New York, and others to the river ports, to Sag Har- 
bor, New London, etc., and many sailing vessels come up 
the river to this port. Of railroads centering in Hartford, 
there are the New York, New Haven and Hartford, by which 
we have come and by which we pursue ovir course, the Hart- 
ford, Providence and Fishkill, from Providence to Waterbury, 
the Connecticut Valley from Hartford to Saybrook Point, at 
the mouth of the Connecticut river, and the Connecticut 
Western from Hartford to Millerton, where it connects with 
the Poughkeepsie and Eastern, and is designed to form a link 
in one of the through western lines. Hartford has a fine 
opera house, seating 1800, and another hall in which theatri- 
cal entertainments, concerts, etc., are given, several good 
hotels and all the characteristics of a live city. For its his- 
toric note, the reader is referred to any first-class history of 
the United States. 

To New Haven and New York. 

Having thus taken a random ramble about Hartford, we will 
return to the stone railway station and take passage on the 
next train south. For the first mile or so our route follows 
the curve of the Little river, which separates the track from 
the Pratt and Whitney, Roper and other machine works. We 
soon reach Parkville, a hamlet in the southwestern outskirts 
of the city, about the intersection of Park street with the 
railroad, near which is the Charter Oak Park, a fine enclosure 
with race track, designed for agricultural fairs and horse 
trots. Four miles further we come to Newington, where the 
Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, wliich has run 
on the same track with us since leaving Hartford, branches 
off to the right, and five miles more bring us to Berlin. 



TOURISTS' HANbBOdK. \\ 

Hence, two branches diverge ; the one to the right running 
to New Britain, a joung but thriving city, noted for its manu- 
factures of small hardware, tools, etc., and the other to the 
left, connecting with the city of Middletown, on the Con- 
necticut river, 15 miles froin Hartford, where also the Con- 
necticut Vallej and the New Haven, Middletown and Willi- 
mantic (Air Line) railroads cross. Middletown is a large, quiet 
and rather old fogy place, chiefly noted as the seat of Wes- 
leyan University, the chief Methodist college of the north. 
The next stopping place is Meriden, a wide-awake, bustling- 
city, the chief attractions of which are its nuinerous manufac- 
tories of silver-plated ware. Fire arms are also inade here, 
and the State Reform School is pleasantly located on a slope in 
the outskirts. Three miles further, or 145 from Boston, 
comes Yalesville, a small manufacturing village ; then Wal- 
lingford, noted for its britannia ware inanufacture and its 
being the home of a branch of the celebrated Oneida Com- 
munity of Free Lovers. The train next traverses a long 
stretch of white sandy plains, useful, no doubt in holding the 
world together, but as soil, too poor to raise mullein. The 
more of this land a man owns, the poorer he is. Geologists 
say, and there is every reason to believe, that this was once 
part of the sandy bed of New Haven harbor, and can trace 
the former shores of the bay in the rising ground bordering 
these plains. The road is terribly dusty here, and every body 
is glad to reach North Haven station, where we strike "solid 
ground" again. This is a great town for brick-making, and 
ships several millions yearly. Half a dozen miles more of 
travel amidst interesting scenery brings us to New Haven, 
whence we continue our journey to New York and thence 
to Saratosra. 



CHAPTER UI. 



Up the Hudson River to Albany and Saratoga. 



ARATOGA, however, being our 
present Mecca, and not New York, 
we will not delay in the metropolis, 
but seek the first conveyance to the 
Springs. Pier 39, foot of Vestry 
street, is but a few steps, — to be 
exact about it, half a dozen 
blocks, — and if we choose 
to do so, we can proceed 
direct thither and on board 
one of the splendid day 
boats Chauncey Vibbard 
and Daniel Drew, famed as 
^^^^ floating palaces par excel- 
lence, for Albany. Or if we 
choose we may take a car- 
riage for a short drive up town, or if desirable may snatch an 
hour or two for the transaction of business (this refers to the 
gnetlemen, of course) as the boat up the river does not start till 
8.30. At that hour, accordingly, we shall be promptly on hand 
».or if more convenient we may connect with the boat at the 
Yoot of 23d street, fifteen minutes later. We are soon com- 
fortably ensconced somewhere on deck, so that, our eyes can 

(42- 




TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 43 

range the scene in every direction and get the full effect of 
the varied beauties of nature and art. As we head up the 
river, we leave behind us the crowded harbor and the bustling 
piers ; to our left and rear is Jersey City, with its various depots 
for transatlantic steamships, its manufactures and its busy 
streets ; directly abreast of us and adjoining Jersey City is 
Hoboken, the former picnic suburb of the metropolis, now a 
steamship and railway terminus, and a little beyond and on the 
same side is Weehawken. Straight ahead of us stretches the 
noble river, bearing on its bosom so great a proportion of 
the city's wealth-producing commerce ; the vast fleets of canal 
boats, laden with coal from the Pennsylvania mines, or grain 
from the western fields ; the steamers from Europe and the 
American coast ports ; clam and oyster boats from the south 
and the lower bay; rafts of lumber from the north, and the 
pleasure palaces like that on which we are taking our passage. 
On our right is the great city, with its square miles of build- 
ings, its labyrinths of streets and its forests of masts. As we 
proceed up the river we successively pass and recognize, if 
we be familiar with the metropolis, Manhattanville, with 
its Lunatic Asylum, Manhattan College, and the Sacred 
Heart Convent; Carmansville, with its Deaf and Dumb In- 
stitution, and group of fine villas ; the Morris House, Wash- 
ington's headquarters in 1776, Fort Washington, the highest 
point on the island, crowned with villas — all formerly sub- 
urban villages, but now connected portions of the great city. 
Between us and Mount Washington projects Jeffrey's Hook, 
the site of a redoubt in 1776, and on the west bank of the 
river, directly to our left, is Fort Lee, with its Revolutionary 
memories and its immense Palisades Hotel. 

The Palisades. 

The grand and wonderful Palisades, famous the world over, 
have begun to appear on our left, since passing Weehaw- 
ken, and from Fort Lee for several miles north, they tower 
like a great wall above the river. These palisades are of the 



44 TO IJRIS tS' HA NDBOOK. 

singular rock formation known as a "trap dyke," from 300 to 
500 feet liigh, forming the west bank of the river. The loftj 
wall appears like a succession of vertical pillars, joined to each 
other, or the palisades of a fortification, whence its popular 
name is taken. Nearly opposite Fort Lee, on the East side, 
appears the mouth of Spuyten-Duyvil Creek, a tidal inlet, 
which with Harlem River forms a water communication 
between the Hudson and East Rivers, and isolates the island 
of Manhattan. The creek is crossed by several bridges form- 
ing the means of communication with the towns in Westches- 
ter County lately annexed to the metropolis. The legend 
goes that a Dutch trumpeter, Anthony by name, while on a 
journey in the old days of New Amsterdam, was impeded in 
his progress by this creek, then nameless. He swore that he 
would swim it, "en spuyt den duyvil," (in spite of the devil) 
and plunged in. But when half across, the veracious narra- 
tive goes, the devil angered at the free use of his name, caiue 
up in the form of a huge moss-bunker, or menhaden, seized 
Anthony and pulled him under, to rise no more. Above the 
creek we pass Riverdale, Mount St. Vincent, with its con- 
vent, and soon reach Yonkers, 17 miles from New York, a 
flourishing and beautiful village at the mouth of the Neperah 
river, with many suburban residences of New York merchants 
in its limits. Here was the ancient Philipse estate, the old 
Dutch manor house, built in 1682 and enlarged in 1745, being 
still in existence. Mary Philipse, the lovely heiress of this 
estate was sought in marriage by Washington long before he 
wooed the widow of Custis, and he never forgot her refusal. 
Hastings comes next, a busy town, and the port of shipment 
for the Westchester marble quarries. A little above is Dobbs's 
Ferry, an old village at the mouth of Wisquaqua Creek, and 
opposite is Piermont, on the line between New York and New 
Jersey. Hitherto, we have had the foreign country last named, 
on our left all the way, but now for the rest of our journey, 
we shall be in the United States and in New York, all the 
way. Inland from Piermont is the old Dutch hamlet of Tap- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 45 

pan, noted chiefly as the place of Major Andre's trial and exe- 
cution in 1780, after Benedict Arnold's unsuccessful attempt 
to deliver up West Point to the British. 

A Region of Roniance. 

Here begins the Tappan Zee, a lake formed by the widening 
of the river, v^hich is from two to five miles wide for a dis- 
tance of ten miles. Near Irvington stands " Sunnjside," the 
old home of Washington Irving, to whose genius this whole 
region owes much of its charm, for he gathered up the quaint 
Dutch traditions that lingered about the scenes and localities, 
and interweaving them with the bright romances of his own 
brain, formed a chaplet which crowns the Hudson with im- 
mortal fame. The Tappan Zee and its neighborhood is the 
very center of this mythical and romantic region. In the 
legends of the early settlers the lovely lake is haunted by spec- 
tral ships of ancient Dutch mould, which came flying up in the 
teeth of the wind and tide, and never returned ; by phantom 
whale-boats of the old water-guard, sunk by the British ; and 
by the spectral skiff" of Rambout Van Dam, destined to row 
between Kakiat and Spuyten Duyvil till the day of judgment. 
Even Sunnyside has its legendary interest. It was built over 
200 years ago by Wolfert Acker, a Dutch councillor, who in- 
scribed over the door, "Lust in Rust," (pleasure in quiet) and 
the English settlers with a droll humor nicknamed it " Wol- 
fert's Roost." All around are beautiful villas, of New York 
grandees mostly, and the spot is charming to the highest 
degree. A short distance above is Tarrytown, the Dutch 
Terwe Dorp, immortalized in Irving's work, and near by is 
Sleepy Hollow, a quiet valley originally called Slaeperigh 
Haven, the scene of Irving's world-famous legend. Carl's 
Mill, the old Dutch church, built of bricks brought from Hol- 
land, the bridge over the Pocantico, where Ichabod Crane was 
overthrown by the Headless Horseman, the Philipse Castle, 
an old loop-holed mansion, built in 1683, as a point of defence 
for the tenantry of the Philipse manor, all are extant. Oppo- 



4-6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

site Tarrjtown is Njack, and a short distance above is Sing 
Sing, a pleasant village on a sunny slope. Near the river 
bank, on grounds covering 130 acres, stands the famous State 
Prison, whose mai-ble buildings were erected bj the convicts 
who swarm like bees all over the enclosure. On the west 
bank is Verdritege Hook on Point-no-Point, a bold promon- 
tory on the top of which lies Rockland Lake, the ice-Held 
whence the inetropolis is chiefly supplied. Teller's or Croton 
Point projects from the right bank nearly two miles, as if to 
co^itest the passage of the river, and as we approach it we see 
the mouth of the Croton river, whence the v/ater supply of 
New York City is conveyed 40 miles in a covered aqueduct. 
The dam is six miles up the river, and is 250 feet long, 40 feet 
high and 70 feet thick at the base, forming a lake five miles 
long, covering four hundred acres and holding 500,000,000 
gallons of water. The aqueduct, of stone and brick, follows the 
course of the Hudson river to the great reservoirs in Central 
Park, and has a daily capacity of 60,000,000 gallons. The 
works cost ^14,000,000, and include sixteen tunnels and 
twenty-five bridges, by which the conduit overcomes natural 
obstacles in its course. 

The Highlands of the Hudson. 

We round Croton Point, steering nearly towards the west 
h^nk, where the Highlands loom up grandly before us, and 
enter the beautiful Haverstraw Bay, a placid expanse of the 
river, named from the village of Haverstraw on the left. On 
Treason Hill, appropriately so called, stands the old stone 
mansion where Arnold and Andre met and arranged for the 
surrender of West Point. A short distance above, on the 
same side, is Stony Point, the scene of " Mad Anthony" 
Wayne's reckless, but successful assault in the Revolution, 
and opposite is Verplanck's Point, which he rendered unten- 
able by the cannonade from Stony Point, after its capture. A 
few miles above, on the right bank, is Peekskill, at the mouth 
of a creek or " kill" from which the village takes its name, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 47 

Jan Peek, an early Dutch mariner having ascended hither and 
named the kill after himself. Here the river turns sharply 
to the left, and passes through "The Race " so called, formed 
by the bluff promontory of Anthony's Nose on the North and 
the Dunderburg on the South. Between these the narrow 
channel is cut, the course of the river being very nearly from 
West to East for a mile or two. The scenery here is grand 
and majestic. Our steamer plows its way between the im- 
posing mountains of the Highlands. The lofty Dunderberg 
(believed by the ancient Dutch to be the home of the storm- 
goblins — hence its name of "Thunder Mountain," as amus- 
ingly described by Irving) towers on our left, and hardly a 
stone's-throw on our right, Anthony's Nose (named, accord- 
ing to the same authority, from the bulbous and rubicund 
protuberance of Anthony Van Corlear, Governor Peter 
Stuyvesant's trumpeter,) rises 1128 feet above the water. Soon 
we turn to the right, pass Bracken Kill, Iowa Island, Poplopen 
Kill, and the remains of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, 
between which the Yankees in 1777 stretched a heavy chain 
and boom to stop the passage of the British fleet, but from 
whence they were driven by a flank movement of Sir Henry 
Clinton. 

"West Point and Above. 

Buttermilk Falls are passed on the left, near which stands 
the famous Cozzens's Hotel, and soon we arrive at West 
Point, the nursery of Uncle Sam's incipient warriors, and the 
flirtation field of hosts of metropolitan damsels during the 
summer encampment. Here are the barracks for 21^0 cadets, 
the chapel, the hospital, the main academy building, the tro- 
phies of captured artillery, the ruins of old fort Putnam, and 
the Siege Battery near the water's edge. Across the river, we 
see Sugar Loaf, beneath whose shadow still stands the house 
in which Arnold made his headquarters ; a little further along 
is Cold Spring, overlooked by Mount Taurus and Breakneck 
Hill. On the left side, a little beyond West Point, loom 
Crownest and Boterberg mountains, separated by the "Vale 



48 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

of Tempe," the scene of part of "The Culprit Faj." Near 
the northern foot of the last named mountain, lies the prettj 
village of Cornwall, and near bj the former villa (Idlewild) 
of N. P. Willis. 

Uewburgh, Fishkill and Poughkeepsie. 

But a short distance further, we see the busy streets, the 
white- dwellings and the loftj spires of Newburgh, apparently 
climbing the steep bluffs on the west bank, while at the water- 
side stand blocks of huge warehouses, and acres of wharves 
and fleets of canal boats lie at the coal docks, loading with 
black diamonds brought direct from the mines by a branch of 
the Erie Railway. The "switchback," by which the loaded 
trains run by gravity down to the dock, and discharge directly 
into the canal boats, will be witnessed with interest by all our 
fellow passengers of a mechanical or material turn of inind ; 
while the romantically inclined will find food for enthusiasm 
in the river and mountain view, and the lovers of history in 
the thought that here in Newburg, Washington had one of 
his numerous headquarters, — this one in a *stone house over 
the heights, where he wintered in 1783 — and perhaps will 
land and pay a pilgrimage thither, as to a second Mecca. New- 
burgh is an exceedingly sightly and handsome city, has 15,000 
inhabitants, an immense coal and luinber trade, and is con- 
nected by ferry with Fishkill Landing, on the east shore, the 
western terminus of the New York and New England rail- 
road, from Boston, via Hartford and Waterbury, if it shall 
ever be completed. The Duchess and Columbia Division, 
now runs to Millerton, where connection is made via Con- 
necticut Western, with Hartford, but the link between Water- 
bury and this Western Division is still inissing. A few iniles 
north, and on the west bank, is a level rocky plateau, called 
by Hendrick Hudson, who witnessed there a midnight orgie 
of the Indians, "the Devil's Dance Chamber." Within the 
next few miles we pass Hampton, Marlborough and Milton, 
small and uninspiring villages on the left, and New Hamburg 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 49 

and Barnegat on the right, and next arrive at Poughkeepsie, 
75 miles from New York, and the largest city between the 
metropolis and Albany. Poughkeepsie, on the east side, is a 
thriving and prosperous city of 20,000 inhabitants, and is the 
western terminus of another proposed line of railroad from 
Boston, to connect with an arm put forth from the West by 
the great Pennsylvania railroad. Vassar College, with its 
400 young lady students, its splendid buildings and its un- 
rivalled educational facilities, is about two miles from the 
city, and is an enduring monument to the benevolence of old 
Matthew Vassar. Besides this famous institution, there are the 
Poughkeepsie Female Academy, the Collegiate Institute, the 
Military Institute, ex-Mayor Eastman's National Business Col- 
lege, St. Peter's Academy, Cottage Hill Seminary, the River- 
view Military School, and other educational establishments of 
a high grade, from which learning exudes, as it were, to bene- 
fit the whole country. There is also the State Hospital for 
the Insane, with its extensive grounds. The Poughkeepsie 
and Eastern Railroad runs east to Millerton, where it connects 
with the roads above named, and the Harlem from New York 
city, while the Hudson River Railroad, which has all along 
followed our course, on the right bank, passes through the 
city. The situation of Poughkeepsie is imposing and sightly. 
It is mainly built on an elevated plateau, far above the river, 
and its many fine edifices show off to good advantage as we 
approach and pass by. 

The River Villages, and Hudson City. 

Opposite Poughkeepsie is New Paltz, a landing connected 
with the city by a ferry ; six miles above is the beautiful vil- 
lage of Hyde Park, near which point the river curves and 
narrows between high cliffs. This curve was appropriately 
named " Crooked Elbow" (Krom Elboge), by the ancient 
Dutch, and bears the name to this day. From this point, for 
a few miles, the scene is one of quiet beauty. Fertile mead- 
ows stretch on either hand, the river placidly expands, while 
3 



50 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

the blue peaks of the distant Katskills form a pleasing back- 
ground. Staatsburg, Rondout and Port Ewen, staid old vil- 
lages, rich in history and tradition, are next passed Rondout 
is at the mouth of the creek of the same name, bj which the 
Delaware and Hudson Canal makes its way to the Hudson. 
Kingston, two miles from the river, on the beautiful Esopus 
Creek, which has furnished the subject for many fine pictures, 
is a very old village, in which the first constitution of New 
York was framed, at a legislative session in 1777. It is now 
a place of some 7,000 inhabitants, and is reached by horse- 
cars from Rondout. Across the Hudson lies Rhinebeck, 
with a ferry connection, the main village being two miles 
inland. On a high bluff near by is an old fortress mansion, 
as manor houses were built in those days ; the house of the' 
Beekman family in the 17th century. Tarrytown, Tivoli, 
Saugerties, Clermont and Maiden, river landings, are suc- 
cessively passed, each having something of interest in its 
history. Above Tarrytown is Annandale, the estate of John 
Bard, who has ereeted thereon St. Stephen's College, a fine 
stone Gothic building, for the education of young men for 
the Episcopal ministry; also the fine church of the Holy 
Innocents. Saugerties is at the mouth of Esopus Creek, 
marking the one hundredth mile from New York; Clermont 
is the ancient Beat of the Livingston family, founded by the 
chancellor of that name, and Maiden is the great shipping 
point of the North River flagging-stone. Passing Katskill 
Landing, the mountains of that name tower above it on the 
left bank, with the Mountain House plainly visible near one 
of the summits. From the landing stages convey tourists to 
the celebrated resort. On the way, the road leads through 
Sleepy Hollow, the scene of Rip Van Winkle's fabled 20 
years' nap. On the east bank of the river, four miles above 
Katskill, is Hudson, the capital of Columbia county, a city 
of about 10,000 inhabitants. Here is the head of ship navi- 
gation on the Hudson, and hence the Hudson and Boston 
Railroad rtins to Chatham, connecting there with the Bos- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 5 1 

ton and Albany. A few miles northeast are the Columbia 
Springs, often visited, and the views of the river, the Kats- 
kills, Helderbergs, Shawangunks, Highlands, and other 
mountains from Prospect Hill are very fine. Opposite Hud- 
son is Athens, the shipping point of immense quantities 
of hay, ice, brick, etc. Here the New York Central Rail- 
road has a great freight terminus. A short distance above is 
Coxsackie and then Stuyvesant Landing, New Baltimore, 
Schodack and Beeren Islands, Coeymans, Schodack, Castle- 
ton, Staats Island and Overslaugh are passed, and the 
steamer rounds to at the dock at Albany. 

Albany, Its History and Its Attractions. 

In 1614 the adventurous Dutch, who had even then sailed 
far up the Hudson and explored the magnificent country on 
its banks, deemed the site of the present city of Albany emin- 
ently fit for a settlement, and accordingly they settled. Nine 
years later they built Fort Orange, and called the little town 
Beaverwyck, owing to the numbers of beaver found here. In 
1664 the British took the place and named it Albany in honor 
of James II, then crown prince, Duke of York and Albany. 
In 1686 a city charter was granted, and in 1798 it became the 
capital of the State. Albany, and indeed nearly all the county, 
and those of Rensselaer and Columbia, were embraced in the 
patent of 1150 square miles granted to Killian Van Rensselaer, 
by the Dutch East India Company in 1637 ^^ Patroon of Rens- 
selaerwyck, and here he and his descendants ruled in feudal 
state until the anti-rent troubles in 1846, when the state troops 
were obliged to interfere to put down the insurrectionary 
tenants, and since that time, the vestiges of the old system 
have disappeared, though the family still remains wealthy 
and famous. So much for history. The Albany of the 
present day is a thriving manufacturing and commercial city, 
doing an immense business by means of the Erie Canal, which 
here has its vast eastern terminal basin, with its breakwater 80 
feet wide and 4,300 feet long, and by its railroad connections. 



52 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

It is also the center of a great brewing interest, and Albany 
XXX ale is known the country over. The river is bridged 
for the passage of the Boston and Albany railroad, by a struc- 
ture of stone and iron costing $1,150,000. Besides this rail- 
road, which runs 201 miles east to Boston, the Hudson River 
142 miles south to New York, the New York Central 298 miles 
west to Buffalo, the Rensselaer and Saratoga 94 miles north- 
east to Rutland, Vt., and the Albany and Susquehanna, 142 
miles south-west, to Binghamton, where it connects with the 
Erie Railway, center here. The city has some 80,000 inhab- 
itants and many fine public buildings. The most magnificent 
among these will be the new capitol, second only to its Federal 
namesake at Washington, if it is ever finished. It has been 
in progress many years, and has cost some $10,000,000. It 
is of light colored stone, in the Renaissance style, of which it 
is considered the finest example in the country. The water 
supply is drawn from Rensselaer Lake, five miles west, 
through a system of works costing $1,000,000. The marble 
State Hall, the City Hall, the Catholic Cathedral of the Im- 
maculate Conception, St. Joseph's church, and St. Peter's 
(Episcopal), with its silver service given by Queen Anne to 
the Onondaga Indians, are all worthy of attention, as are the 
several educational institutions. But perhaps the most inter- 
esting building in the city is the old Van Rensselaer manor 
house, surrounded by its park, near Broadway, on the site of 
the original dwelling of the first Patroon of the name. This 
manor house is very ancient, and an interesting relic of the 
ai-chitecture of the feudal days of Albany. Here too is the 
old Schuyler mansion, built some two centuries ago, by the 
head of that distinguished and wealthy fainily. 

A pleasant stopping-place in Albany, and one much frequen- 
ted and enjoyed by tourists, is the famous hotel, Congress Hall, 
of which Mr. Adam Blake is the justly popular proprietor. 
Its location on the high land opposite the State House and the 
new Capitol ; away from smoke and dust and noise of rail- 
road trains and the business streets, makes it especially de- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. ' 53 

sirable to those fond of quiet, while comfortable, well 
furnished rooms, a sumptuous table and all the conveniences 
of a hotel leave little to be desired. 

From Albany to Saratoga. 

Continuing on our pilgrimage to the Springs however, we 
must drop the beauties and the traditions of Albany, and take 
the cars of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad northward. 
Passing the Rural Cemetery, a little out of the city, we soon 
reach West Troy, the site of the Watervliet National Arsenal, 
with its hundred acres of enclosure, and its many substantial 
buildings. Across the river to our right, we see the city of 
Troy, with its fine buildings and its hosts of foundries. We 
soon reach Cohoes, a busy factory city of 16,000 inhabitants, 
at the great falls of the Mohawk river. Here is a costly dam 
built by the State, and by means of great hydraulic canals, 
water-power is derived equal to the task of manufacturing 
f 10,000,000 worth of goods annually. Three miles above 
Cohoes, the Erie canal crosses the Mohawk in an aqueduct of 
stone with 27 arches, the whole structure being over iioo feet 
ong. We cross the Mohawk river at Cohoes, and soon 
passing through Waterford, a manufacturing village, fol- 
low the left bank of the Hudson — a small stream above the 
confluence of the Mohawk, and shorn of all its grandeur — 
and traverse a long and fertile meadow between the river and the 
Champlain canal. Then we pass Mechanicsville, where are 
numerous thread factories. Round Lake, where the Metho- 
dists have a famous camp-ineeting in "the season," and soon 
draw up at the station at Ballston Spa. This resort, though 
now less famous than its more northern rival, Saratoga, was 
in the past the great fashionable watering place of the coun- 
try and still retains traditions of its former grandeur. It is 
now visited in the summer by many people, who desire a quiet 
and select, rather than a brilliant and showy company, and 
comfortable accommodations. There are several fine and 
famous springs here, among which the Sans Souci, in the 



54 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

grounds of the famous old hotel of the same name, is the most 
widely known. It is a spouting spring, and very rich in mine- 
ral virtues, containing 986J grains of mineral matter to each 
gallon, 572 being chloride of sodium (called salt by some pro- 
saic and vulgar people,) and 274 being bi-carbonates of lime 
and magnesia. The Artesian Lithia spring, bored in 1868, is 
considered a wonderful specific for rheumatism, gout, gravel 
and kindred diseases. It flows from a depth of 650 feet, and 
contains nearly 8 grains to the gallon of the bi-carbonate of 
lithia, and enough other mineral ingredients to aggregate 
1,2345 grains per gallon, making it probably the most strongly 
mineral water in the valley. The Ballston Springs are in the 
southern portion of the same valley with those of Saratoga, 
which seems to justify, in the wonderful efficacy, variety and 
quantity of its medicinal waters, the Indian superstition that 
here was the laboratory of the Great Spirit, where his children 
should come to be cured of their diseases. Ballston is the 
capital of Saratoga county, has several factories and a popu- 
lation of about 5000. From Ballston to Schenectady a branch 
runs southwest, the distance being 17 miles. Continuing on 
our northern course seven miles, we sweep by several grand 
hotels, foi-ming the centre of a handsome and populous vil- 
lage, draw alongside an immense covered platform, and alight 
at Saratoga Springs. 

Other Routes to Saratoga. 

As already intimated there are several other routes which 
may be traversed on our way to Saratoga, but through lack 
of directness or the long time consumed, some special reason 
would be required for travelling them. One may go by 
Providence and thence by Hartford, Providence and Fishkill 
to Hartford, thence by steamer to New York; or by New 
York and Boston Air Line, via Putnam, Willimantic, Mid- 
dletown and New Haven ; or by steamer from Providence, or 
Saybrook, or New Haven, or even Bridgeport to New York; 
or by a dozen other routes or parts of routes ; but, as already 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 55 

said, special reasons would be required to justify such a 
departure from the ordinary course of travellers. Some peo- 
ple, also, take the Hudson River Railroad from New York to 
Albany, but such people lose in great measure the enjoyment 
of the splendid scenery of the Hudson, But by whichever 
route we come, we will suppose ourselves to have landed 
safely under the long roof which covers the platforms and 
tracks at " the Springs," and to be receiving the congratula- 
tions and pressing invitations of the legion of delighted port- 
ers and drivers, who are unfeignedly glad to see us and 
anxious to take us to their respective hotels. 

The Fitchburg, Rutland and Saratoga Line. 

We will, however, describe one or two of the prominent 
all-rail routes thither. And first, we will premise that the 
tourist has purchased his tickets and obtained the necessary 
information as to routes, stopping-places, connections and 
time tables, both which desirable consummations can be 
reached by a call upon, or a letter to the office of the Fitch- 
burg, Rutland and Saratoga Line, at No. 228 Washington 
street. The railway station on Causeway street, is the start- 
ing point for two routes, that via Fitchburg and Rutland 
coming first under our notice. Elegant and comfortable or- 
dinary cars are furnished by this line, in which any one can 
ride as easily and with as little discomfort as on any road in 
the country. In addition, the famous Pullman cars are run 
on the through trains, in which those who are willing to pay 
for a little extra luxury and the attention of a special con- 
ductor can enjoy the acme of comfort in railway travel. As 
we leave the city and cross Charles River to Charlestown, the 
tall form of Bunker Hill monument towers above us on the 
right, and nearer by we see the grim walls of the State Prison. 
We barely skirt the edge of Charlestown, and then cross 
the Miller's river, pass through Somerville, Cambridge, Bel- 
mont and Waltham, at which latter place we see the immense 
works of the American Watch Company ; Lincoln, in which 



5 6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

town are the famous Walden woods and ponds, made famous 
bjThoreau's hermit life, and now the favorite scene of picnics; 
and soon we enter Concord, which was the scene of anything 
but concord one hundred years ago. On the 19th of April, 
1775, history tells us, 800 British troops under Major Pitcairn, 
who had dispersed the patriots at Lexington the nigh before, 
were met at the North bridge across the Concord river by a 
little band of " embattled farmers," who " fired the shot heard 
round the world," and in so doing routed the proud hosts of 
the invader and sent them in disorder out of town. Here, 
upon the 19th of April, 1875, the centennial was celebrated 
with great pomp, a crowd of 20,000 people attending, the 
President and his Cabinet being present, an oration by George 
William Curtis, an addi-ess by Ralph Waldo Emerson and 
several other speeches being delivered, and the fine bronze 
monument of the Minute Man being dedicated on the old 
battle ground. But this is not a historical work of fiction ; 
anyone who craves more history can consult the text books 
in the public schools. South Acton is the next station. It is 
chiefly noted as the point of departure of the Marlboro' 
Branch, 13 miles long. At Ayer (formerly Groton Junction) 
railroads from Worcester, Nashua, Lowell, Clinton and Peter- 
boro', N. H., intersect, and here we are quite sure to receive 
accessions to our numbers from some or all of these places. 

Fitehburg and its Environs. 

Soon we reach Fitehburg, distant 50 miles (an hour and a 
half's ride) from Boston, and here we find another prosper- 
ous manufacturing town, an important railroad centre, and a 
delightful spot in summer to spend a few days or weeks. A 
good sized hill near the town bears the resounding title of 
Rollstone Mountain, and the brawling brook which courses 
through the village, supplying 25 water privileges and creat- 
ing a necessity for several railroad bridges, is known as the 
Nashua river. From Fitehburg the Hoosac Tunnel Line 
branches off to the west, the Fitehburg and Worcester road 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 57 

runs nearly south to Worcester, and the Cheshire railroad 
proceeds (and we with and upon it) northwesterly to Keene, 
N. H. We pass through the towns of Westminster and 
Ashburnham, for the first few miles having fine views from 
the windows on the left of Wachusett Mountain, 2,018 feet 
high, in the northern part of Princeton, and passing in Ash- 
burnham a number of clear, wooded ponds, which at this 
season are carpeted over with water-lily pads, and starred 
with their fragrant and snowy blossoms. Next we come to 
Winchendon, 68 miles from Boston, a large manufacturing 
town on Miller's river. This is the great hive of industry 
from which are produced myriads of wooden vessels, utensils 
and conveniences. It is no sign of illness in this town to 
turn a little pail, or a large one either, for hundreds of work- 
men are daily turning them, and "kicking the bucket" does 
not necessarily imply death. One of the largest of these fac- 
tories, where everything wooden from a clothes-pin to a rock- 
ing-horse is turned out, is that of Captain E. Murdock, Jr., 
and it will be worth anyone's while to stop here and visit it. 
And they need not stop for that alone, for hence the Monad- 
nock Branch makes oflT to Rindge, Jaffrey and Peterborough, 
N. H., and many people transfer themselves to this road for 
a trip to Mount Monadnock, of which more will be said here- 
after. Others go by carriage from Winchendon, and, indeed, 
in all the neighboring country it is the custom to get up pic- 
nic parties to the top of Monadnock, for the benefit of 
sojourners from the cities. 

Mount Monadnock. 

This most celebrated peak of the vicinity is located in the 
town of Jaffrey, N. H., and is full in view from the car win- 
dows for several miles as we pass into the Granite State, 
either on the main line or the Monadnock Branch. It is a 
bold, rugged peak, 3450 feet high, nearly conical, and of great 
beauty when its harsh lines are softened by the distance. 
Near to, it shows wooded sides reaching nearly to the sum- 
3* 



58 TOttRISTS' HANDBOOIC. 

mit, though broken hy perpendicular ledges of rock, and a 
crest of solid jagged rock, bare and bleak as that of Mount 
Washington itself. It is comparatively easj of ascent, and 
one can leave Boston at 7.30 A. m., visit JafFrey, ascend the 
mountain, and reach home at 7 p. m., after a most delightful 
and invigorating trip. From the summit of Monadnock, a 
view, grand, beautiful and varied is spread out before the visi- 
tor. Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts 
are at his foot, and though he does not see all the kingdoms 
of the world and the glorj of them, jet he gets a larger idea 
of the greatness of this portion of New England than he can 
from level ground. There are said to be 30 lakes embraced 
within the range of vision, on one of the prettiest of which, 
Contoocook, a small excursion steamer has been placed. The 
Monadnock Mountain House, on the slope of the mountain, is 
much frequented by visitors. Returning to the main line, we 
pass through State Line, 71 miles from Boston, Fitzwilliam, 
77 miles, Troy, 82 miles, and Marlboro, 86 miles, little towns 
nestled among the hills, and favorite resorts for those who 
were born under the last sign of the Zodiac. Then through 
South Keene, 80 miles from Boston, a small station in the 
southern part of Keene, and in a few minutes we roll into the 
fine depot of Keene proper, 82 miles from our starting point. 
Keene is one of the most charming towns in New Hampshire, 
noted for manufactures, the power for which it derives from 
the Ashuelot river and from Beaver Brook, the falls of which, 
two miles north of the village, are an object of great interest 
to the tourist. The location of Keene is beautiful, on a fine 
meadow surrounded by hills, and traversed by the clear and 
sparkling river. It is a town of 6000 inhabitants, has seven 
churches and the county buildings of Cheshire county. The 
Ashuelot Railroad runs hence southwest to South Vernon, 
Vermont. The streets of Keene are broad, well shaded, and 
the business centre. Central Square, has fine stores, in which 
a large trade with the surrounding country is carried on. 
From Keene we continue through the Westmorelands, the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 59 

first 100 miles from Boston, being oddlj enough named East 
Westmoreland and suggesting the inquiry as to whether there 
may not be a North-East-by-South Westmoreland, then West- 
moreland proper, 104 miles, Walpole no miles, Cold River 
113 miles, the track following all the way the course of the 
Connecticut River, and at the feet of a chain of magnificent 
hills, the highest of which. Fall Mountain — a spur of Mount 
Toby — towers 750 feet above our heads. Just beyond the 
last named station we roll through a bridge which crosses the 
Connecticut into Vermont, giving us fleeting glimpses of the 
celebrated Bellows Falls, and in a few moments we are at 
the Station of that name, an important railroad junction, and 
one of the most flourishing manufacturing towns of the Green 
Mountain State. 

Bellows Falls, and Beyond. 

The situation of this village is romantic in the extreme. 
Looking to the eastward from the platform of the railway 
station, Mount Kilburn, wooded with evergreen to its very 
summit, towers like an emerald wall to the hight of 900 feet. 
At its foot, and almost at ours, the river roars and foams. The 
Connecticut is here compressed into a channel less than 50 
feet wide, and the rush of waters through this narrow gorge 
and over the huge rocks, which obstructs it, is magnificent, 
especially during the Spring floods. Bellows Falls is a most 
enjoyable place at which to spend a week, so numerous and 
so varied are its objects of interest. To geologists, the 
strange natural carvings of human faces in the rocks of the 
vicinity will be well worth seeing ; to the lover of fishing, 
Warren's and Minard's ponds, Saxton's river and other places 
afford fine sport, and if one enjoy witnessing the development 
of the finny tribes, he may, at J. D. Bridgman's trout-breeding 
establishment, | of a mile north, gain all needed information ; 
to the invalid the Abenaquis Iron Springs offer their healing 
waters, and to the lover of fine natural scenery there are 
numerous pleasant drives, walks and climbs in the neighbor- 



6o TOURISTS' HANDBOOK:. 

hood. Bellows Falls has been mentioned as a great railroad 
centre. Here, besides the Cheshire road, which forms a part 
of the great thoroughfare to Boston, the southern division of 
the Central Vermont Railroad comes in from South Vernon, 
where it connects with the Connecticut River Railroad, for 
Springfield, Mass. Here also, the Central Division of the 
same great corporation branches oft' to White River Junction, 
while we ourselves continue on northwest, over the Rutland 
Division of the same railroad. A ride of ten miles brings us 
to Bartons ville, 123 miles from Boston, where we begin the 
ascent of the Green Mountains, though we do not perceive 
anj strong indications of our approach thereto before reach- 
ing Chester, 127 miles from Boston, whence we see from our 
post on the summit of a long green slope to the Williams 
river, a noble hill towering on our right. At Gas sett's, 133 
miles from Boston, we can take a stage, if we are so disposed, 
for Springfield, seven miles distant, and inspect the Black 
River Falls, which afford some wonderful illustrations of the 
action of water in wearing awaj rock. 

Ludlow and the "Hog's Back." 

Passing Cavendish and Proctorsville, which last place is 
noted for a quarry of splendid serpentine marble, much used 
for decorative purposes, we come to Ludlow, 141 miles from 
Boston, where we see the wonderful "Hog's Back" This 
euphonious designation is applied to a loftj ridge, whose 
formation has greatly puzzled geologists, rising abruptly 
from the green and fertile meadows. It is generally believed 
to have been an island in some primeval lake, before the 
breaking down of the eastern serpentine ridge drained off" its 
waters and changed its bottom into a rich meadow. Over 
the crest of this ridge runs the railroad, ascending from Lud- 
low seven miles to Summit, the highest station on the road. 
At Ludlow we wait for the passage of the down train, and 
looking from our windows, up the grand sweep of the 
*' Hog's Back," we see ihe train gliding like a serpent along 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 6i 

its edge, and presently, with a roar like that of many waters, 
it emerges from a shallow cut and dashes up to the station 
at a speed which requires all the power of the brakes to 
check. From Summit to Ludlow no steam is used ; the traia 
is run bj gravity alone ; the speed is tremendous, and the 
sensation of riding over this portion of the road is exhila- 
rating in the extreme. Ludlow is also famous for its mag- 
netic iron ore and its fine beds of antique marble. Toiling 
up the " Hog's Back " we next reach Healdsville, 147 miles 
from Boston, a little station surmounting an ugly chasm, out 
of whose rocky sides several charming little cascades trickle 
Summit comes next, one mile further, and here the dividing 
line between the eastern and western slopes is reached. Here 
steam is shut off, and we begin the descent to Rutland, 18 
miles distant and 1,000 feet below us, our average descent 
being 55 feet to the mile. Mount Holly, East Wallingford 
and Cuttingsville are passed without comment, unless one 
should chance to notice from the windows Shrewsbury Peak, 
near the latter station, a commanding mountain 4,086 feet 
high. 

Rutland and its Attractions. 

Clarendon, 160 miles from Boston is the last stopping place 
before reaching Rutland, six miles further on, where we enter 
a large and handsome depot, and can, if we desire, get an ex- 
cellent dinner at the restaurant in the station, or can patronize 
one of the hotels near-by, whose merits are loudly eulogized 
by a host of porters, whose friendliness and desire for the 
travelers' comfort are touching in the extreame. Many per- 
sons will desire to stop at Rutland for a time to rest from the 
fatigues of the journey, or to enjoy the fine scenery and the 
many attractions in the vicinity. For those fond of mountain 
climbing, Shx-ewsbury and Killington Peaks, lofty protuber- 
ances of the Green Mountain system, easily visited, will prove 
great attractions ; Capitol Rock, on the north side of the 
latter, being a noted curiosity. For those whose blood is out 



62 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

of order, and who consequently "enjoy poor health," there are 
the Clarendon Springs near-bj, whose waters, abounding in 
nitrogen gas in solution, sulphate and muriate of lime, sul- 
phate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, a large amount of car- 
bonic acids and perhaps other essentials to the prosperity of 
a well regulated drug-store, — are said to be equal as an alter- 
ative to those of the German Spa, which they much resemble. 
There are many fine drives about Rutland, to Sutherland 
Falls, to Killington, Shrewsbury and Pico Peaks, and to West 
Rutland where are some of the largest marble quarries in the 
world. Whole hills seem to be composed of solid marble, 
of snowy whiteness and fine texture, so fine, indeed that its 
value at the quarry is greater than that of Italian marble deli- 
vered at New York. A visit to these quarries is full of 
interest. Approaching, one sees first the great mill where 
gangs of saws are endlessly cutting the glittering stone into 
slabs of various thickenesses ; the huge derricks, used for 
lifting the great masses of stone ; then the piles of broken 
stone sloping away from the mouth of the quarry, like the 
piles of coal dust in front of a Pennsylvania coal shaft ; then 
the gloomy opening to the mine itself. Some of these quar- 
ries have been worked for many years, and have completely 
hollowed out the interior of considerable hills, leaving only a 
shell of marble to support the soil and preserve the form of 
the outside. At first the work of quarrying was done by 
hand, but now steam is almost universally applied. Diamond 
drills, channelling machines and other like appliances are at 
work down deep in the bowels of the earth, the deafening 
noise of their action reverberating through the vaulted cavern ; 
the gleam of light from the engine and the sooty smoke which 
constantly arises, and has in the lapse of years changed the 
snowy purity of the marble canopy overhead to inky black- 
ness, make the whole scene to the unaccustomed visitor like 
a glimpse of Dante's Inferno. Rutland has several fine 
streets, handsome stores, hotels and churches, and the court 
house of Rutland County. The town has about 10,000 inha- 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 6^ 

bitants and is very prosperous and thrifty. The raih-oads 
which centre here are the Rutland Division, Central Vermont, 
from Bellows Falls to Burlington and Essex Junction ; the 
Harlem extension, running through Manchester and Ben- 
nington, Vermont, and Chatham Four Corners, New York, 
to New York Citj; and the Rensselaer and Saratoga, bj which 
we take passage for the Springs, 

The Eoad from Rutland to Saratoga. 

Our first station is West Rutland, where the eye is attracted 
by the immense quantities of marble awaiting shipment, from 
the great quarries already described. This is also the nearest 
station to the Clarendon Springs, mentioned above, and here 
many visitors stop and take stages for the fainous resort. 
Castleton, lo miles from Rutland, 176 from Boston, a beautiful 
village of 1,000 inhabitants, is our next stopping place. This 
village is peculiarly favored by nature. It lies in the very lap 
of the Green mountains which rise abruptly on the east, while 
the rolling country to the west stretches away to the shores of 
Lake Champlain. It contains Lake Bomoseen, a clear and 
beautiful body of water nine miles long by three miles wide, 
dotted with islands and embosomed in lofty hills ; its waters 
cold and limpid, the home of myriads of fine fish. Glen Lake, 
a tributary of Bomoseen, lies to the west, and Castleton river, 
a transparent, rapid stream, rising in the Green mountains, 
flows by its southern extremity on its way to join the Poultney 
river at Fairhaven, whence the combined stream makes its 
way to Lake Champlain over three falls aggregating 200 feet 
in hight. With such natural facilities, and the well known 
amiability and susceptibility to the blandishments of the 
angler of Vermont fish, it is no wonder that many gentlemen 
alight at Clarendon, whose principal baggage consists of rods, 
hooks, creels, lines and flies. But not alone do those of the 
male sex stop at Castleton. Fair and fascinating creatures, 
whom nothing less than a " Saratoga" or two can pacify in 
the way of baggage, are also dropping off here by every train. 



64 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

Thej say thej come to see Lake Bomoseen, to climb Bird, 
Herrick and Gilmore mountains and to visit the Falls, but 
there is reason to fear that thej have designs upon the hardj 
fisherman whose prowess we sing; else whj those clothes, 
why the scenes of gajetj at the hotel, whj the tales of flirta- 
tion that have become tradition in the neighborhoods? The 
road bj which we came from Rutland lies through " The 
Gate," a narrow pass between the Bird and Gilmore moun- 
tains, of which we spoke above, and from Castleton we pass 
through Fairhaven, where we may stop, if so inclined, to 
visit the Falls of the Castleton river or continue to White- 
hall, 26 miles from Rutland, 192 from Boston, a town of 6,000 
inhabitants, at the southern extremity of Lake Champlain. 
During the French and Indian wars, and the Revolution, 
Whitehall, then called Skenesborough, was a place of much 
importance. The Champlain canal runs hence to Troy, con- 
necting the lake with the Hudson river, and on our way to 
Saratoga the slowly-moving boats, with their tugging horses 
and efficient officers and crews, are in sight from the car win- 
dows a good share of the way. The Lake Champlain steam- 
ers have their southern terminus here, runnings hence to 
Ticonderoga, Burlington, Plattsburg, Rouse's Point and way 
stations. 

An Historic and Legendary Legion. 

The region upon which we are now entering is rich in his- 
torical and legendary lore. In the old days the possession of 
the Lake was deemed of such importance by all the powers 
that contended for the supremacy, that this territory was 
fought over again and again, and successively held by French, 
Indians, English and Americans. Every village, almost, 
bears the name of some fort, and has a crumbling ruin, or 
nearly obliterated earthwork, or at least a healthy tradition, to 
trot out in support of its claim. Fort Ann is the first of these 
villages, and it shows the remains of a redoubt erected in 
1756, during the " Old French War," to command the head of 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 65 

boat navigation on Wood Creek. Next comes Fort Edward. 
Here was another stronghold, but the chief features of interest 
attaching to the place, are the legends of Jane McCrea and 
Major Israel Putnam. In 1777 during Burgojne's invasion. 
Miss McCrea, the affianced bride of an American rojalist in 
the invading armj, was at the house of a friend near the fort. 
A party of the Indian allies attacked the house and butchered 
all the inmates save Miss McCrea. Thej took her with them 
towards the camp, but fearing pursuit, killed her also, threw 
her body into a spring and carried her scalp into the presence 
of Burgoyne, demanding the price of a traitor's head. The 
lady's lover was present and recognized the beautiful hair. 
His reason forsook him ; he deserted the army, and wandering 
for a time he died by his own hand. The other legend is more 
cheerful. In the winter of 1757-8, Israel Putnam, then major, 
was quartered here. The barracks took fire near the magazine, 
where 300 barrels of powder were stored. Putnam mounted 
a ladder near the fire, ordered a line of men formed to the 
river and buckets of water passed as rapidly as possible to 
him, while he threw them on. Putnam stood there till the 
outer sheathing of the magazine was ablaze. Only a single 
thickness of plank intervened between him anci death, but he 
wouldn't heed the entreaties to save himself, and just then the 
barracks fell in, the danger was averted, the fire was soon 
subdued, and peace and happiness reigned supreme. There 
is n't much of the fort left to corroborate the story, but it is 
doubtless true. It was just like " Old Put." At Fort Edward, 
we first touch the Hudson River, and here a branch leaves for 
Glen's Falls. Forty minutes more of riding, through a level 
and uninteresting country, and we arrive at Saratoga, 63 
miles from Rutland, 229 from Boston. Our first intimation 
of approach to the village is the appearance of buildings on 
the left ; then the most northerly of the springs is seen, the 
valley opens before us, and in a moment we whirl up to an 
immensely long covered platform at the station, and step out. 
We are greeted by hosts of hackmen and 'bus drivers, who, 



66 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

though strangers to us, hail us with a heartiness and a fami- 
liarity, which shows that they expected us and are delighted 
at our arrival. 

The Boston and Albany Boute. 

By this route, we take the cars at the Boston and Albany 
depot, corner of Beach and Albany streets, and if we wish to 
go "through by daylight" and sleep in Saratoga the same 
night, we shall take the 8.30 A. M. train. Should we choose 
however, we shall be amply repaid for stoping by the way at 
several points, where most romantic and beautiful scenery is 
spread out. Securing seats on the right-hand or shady side 
of the elegant cars, or a cosily curtained section of the Wagner 
palace, we trundle out through deep cuttings alongside of or 
underneath busy streets, until the Back Bay district is reached, 
when a vast expanse of gravel stretches out like a gray- 
brown sea, over the flats once covered by sparkling waters, 
where 20 years ago or less little boys sailed boats, went in 
swimming and fished for mummychugs. A moment's halt 
is made at the "Know-nothing" crossing of the Provi- 
dence railroad and then we are off again. Cottage Farms, 
Allston, wherq^are the shops of the Boston and Albany rail- 
road and the Beacon race track ; Brighton, with all its great 
cattle yards and abattoir; "all the Newtons," lovely subur- 
ban villages, which give to strangers some of their plea- 
santest impressions of the vicinity of Boston ; Auburndale, 
the site of the Laselle female seminary, a noted educational 
institution ; Riverside, with its charming view of meadow and 
river and forest ; Wellesley, with its beautiful Lake Wauban 
and the splendid Durant female seminary towering beyond ; 
Natick, the house of Vice President Wilson, (whose modest 
white house is pointed out to visitors with as much pride as is 
the soldiers' monument in the little square near the depot), a 
town where shoes, hats and base-balls are manufactured, and 
in the early days of Massachusetts Bay Colony, the site of 
Eliot's Christian Indian community ; Cochituate Lake on the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 67 

right, whence an aqueduct of 20 miles in length conveys the 
water to the city of Boston, are passed, and soon we draw up 
for a short halt at South Framingham. 

A Busy Bailroad Centre. 

At South Framingham, in addition to the vast through 
traffic of the Boston and Albany, is a very considerable rail- 
road centre formed by the junction here of the several roads 
composing the system of lines under the management of the 
Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg. The main road runs north- 
west through Framingham Centre, a pretty rural village, noted 
chiefly as the site of the State Normal School, where every year 
a class of "sweet girl graduates with their golden hair" go forth 
to the easy conquest of the young men and the more difficult 
task of teaching the young idea how to shoot; through South- 
boro, Marlboro, Northboro and Berlin, pretty farming towns ; 
through Clinton, a busy village at the junction of the Wor- 
cester and Nashua railroad ; through Pratt's Junction, where 
the Fitchburg and Worcester is crossed, and Leominster, to 
a junction with the various northern lines at Fitchburg. The 
Mansfield and Framingham Division runs southeast 18 miles, 
through Sherborn, Medfield Junction, where it connects with 
the Woonsocket Division of the New York and New England 
road ; Medfield, Walpole, where it crosses the main line of 
the New York and New England, South Walpole, Foxboro, 
and Mansfield, where it connects with the Boston and Provi- 
dence, and the Taunton Branch, which the line has leased as 
a connection with the New Bedford Divison, over which 
passengers and freight are brought from the seaboard to the 
mountains. The Lowell and Framingham Division runs 
north 28 miles, through Sudbury, famed in colonial history 
and romance especially for its "Wayside Inn" of Longfel- 
low's poem ; through West Concord, Acton, Carlisle and 
Chelmsford, to the great spindle city, where another connec- 
tion with the great northern lines is formed. 



68 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

From South Framingham also, a branch of the Boston and 
Albany runs southward twelve miles, through Holliston to 
Milford, a busy village. Near South Framingham is Har- 
mony Grove, famous for temperance, woman's, spiritualist and 
all sorts of "off color" mass meetings; also the Methodist 
camp ground. From South Framingham we pursue our 
course westward, following the Sudbury river some distance, 
and passing Ashland, Cordaville, Southville and Westboro, 
(at which latter place is the State Reform School, a water- 
cure establishment and the headquarters of the sleigh-build- 
ing interest in this State,) Grafton, Millbury, (whence a 
branch track runs to the village proper 3 miles south, a busy 
manufacturing place,) and by a sharp turn to the right we 
come in view of the sparkling waters of Lake Quinsigamond, 
famed in years gone by as the course for the Yale-Harvard 
College regattas, and know that we are approaching Woi'cester. 
A few moment's ride, and we trundle into the splendid union 
depot, one of the finest, if not the finest railroad station in 
New England. It is of solid granite masonry throughout, 
" built to stand," and is 514 feet long by 256 feet wide, with a 
clock tower 200 feet high. Though built by the Boston and 
Albany railroad, it accommodates the trains of the Worcester 
and Nashua, Providence and Worcester, Norwich and Wor- 
cester, Boston, Barre and Gardner, and Fitchburg and Wor- 
cester railroads, and effectually supersedes the several isolated 
stations hitherto used by the various roads. It stands on 
Washington Square, a few rods north-west of the old " lower 
depot " of the Boston and Albany, and a quarter-mile south 
of the up-town or Foster street station. 

"Worcester and its Attractions. 

Worcester is the second city in Massachusetts for wealth 
and population, containing over 50,000 inhabitants, thirty 
churches, many thriving manufactories and a number of 
academic institutions. It is built very near to the geogra- 
phical center of the State, and accordingly is the place for 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 69 

holding most of the State Conventions of the p olitical par- 
ties. Most towns are located by accident of settlement, bj 
reason of natural advantages or some similar circumstance. 
Worcester was not thus placed, but was located and settled bj 
order of the Colonial Legislature of Massachusetts Bay in 
1669, as a half-way-house or halting place between Boston 
and the towns in the Connecticut Valley. Thirty families 
were located here and built a stockade against the "heathen," 
as Lo and his relatives were then facetiously termed, but "ye 
salvages " made it so warm for the settlers that in a few years 
the place was abandoned. In 1713 a new settlement was 
formed, a church built, which was also a citadel, and whither 
the male population carried arms and ammunition when at- 
tending services, — in fact, a genuine church-militant. Wor- 
cester was full of patriotism during the Revolution and sent 
a good sized regiment, the Fifteenth Mass., to the Continental 
army. A handsome monument to its colonel, Timothy Bige- 
low, stands on the Cominon. It was dedicated April 19, 186I, 
with a speech by Judge Thoinas, the very day of the first 
bloodshed of the rebellion, when the Sixth Massachusetts 
marched through Baltimore. By a singular coincidence, the 
Fifteenth Massachusetts regiment, raised here, paraded and 
received its colors just 84 years after its namesake of the Revo- 
lution. Worcester sent several regiments and many fine offi- 
cers to the Union army during the late war. The bravery of 
the fallen is perpetuated by a magnificent monument, dedica- 
ted last summer, consisting of a tall granite column, whose 
base is flanked by colossal bronze figures of soldiers, represent- 
ing the several arms of the service, and its top is crowned by a 
globe sustairting a beautiful statue of victory. It has been 
mentioned that Worcester was not located by reason of natural 
advantages, yet had it been, a finer site could not have been 
chosen. Its manufactures have been developed by the power 
afforded by the Blackstone river which flows through it ; its 
centrality and the conformation of its ground have made it 
a great railroad junction, while healthfulness and attractive- 



70 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 



ness are combined in its position among a group of romantic 
hills. Look which way you will, a graceful eminence rises 
before you, and generally it is crowned by the buildings of 
some college or academy. There are the Roman Catholic 
College of the Holy Cross, the Oread Seminary, for young 
ladies, the State Normal School, the Classical and English 
High School, the Free Industrial School, the Baptist Academy, 
the Highland Military School, and one or two others, all pro- 
vided with fine buildings. Other objects of note in the way 
of buildings are the structure of the American Antiquarian 
Society on Lincoln square, with its library of 50,000 volumes, 
and its ancient portraits, its museum of old MSS. and curiosi- 
ties etc. ; the old Exchange tavern, where Washington and 
Lafayette have slept, and Mechanics' Hall, the largest in the 
State, where political conventions are held. 

Westward from Worcester. 

Continuing our westward journey, we soon arrive at West 
Brookfield, having passed Rochdale, Charlton, Spencer, East 
Brookfield and Brookfield, all smiling and fertile farming 
towns. West Brookfield is noted as the scene of a most de- 
termined resistance in 1675, by a little colony of Ipswich 
men, against the Nipmuck Indians. Huddled in a little gar- 
rison house, the brave colonists defended themselves for three 
days. Then the Indians, loading a cart with flax and straw, 
set fire to it, and pushed it up against the house. It had 
already began to blaze up, when a sudden shower extin- 
guished the flames, and a gallant party of horsemen from 
Lancaster, 30 miles distant, galloped up and scattered the 
heathens like chaff. No wonder the old chroniclers considered 
that shower a miracle from Heaven. The various Brookfields 
are now noted for their shoe manufactories, and West Brook- 
field, where all trains stop, has a restaurant in the station, at 
which the best milk in New England can be procured. From 
West Brookfield, our course lies along the Chicopee river, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 7 1 

which the track crosses a dozen times or so before reaching 
Palmer. Some of the glimpses of the river through the trees, 
dashing over brawling cascades, are very pretty. En-route 
to Palmer, we pass the Warren, West Warren and Brimfield 
stations, notable only for their manufactures and general 
thrift. Palmer is a stirring town, especially since it has 
become a great railroad centre. Here the New London 
Northern Railroad crosses our track, running from the Long 
Island Sound on the south to Grout's Corner on the north, 
where it connects with various northern and western lines. 
Hence also diverge the Ware River Railroad (leased to the 
Boston and Albany, and the Athol and Enfield.) Just across 
the Chicopee river, to the south, we see the huge, white build- 
ing of the State Almshouse, in the town of Monson. Pass- 
ing Wilbraham and Indian Orchard, with their factories, we 
descend a steep grade of about four miles, and enter Spring- 
field. 

Springfield and its Environs. 

Springfield, 98 miles from Boston, 104 from Albany, and 
135 from New York, forming the natural centre for the roads 
from those places, as well as from the several systems of lines 
to the north, via the Connecticut River Railroad, is located 
on the eastern bank of the Connecticut river, about two miles 
below the mouth of the Chicopee, and about the same above 
the mouth of the Agawam, which comes in from the West. 
It is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants, and is noted for its fine 
scenery, its railroad communications, its United States Ar- 
mory and its manufactories of railroad cars (Wason Manufac- 
turing Co.), of trunks and harness, of small arms, (Smith 
and Wesson Manufacturing Co.), etc. Springfield was settled 
in 1638, by a company under William Pynchon, and burned 
by the Indians in 1675, while the trainbands were absent de- 
fending Hadley. Only three block-houses, in which the 
inhabitants took refuge, remained standing, and one of these 



72 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

was extant at a very recent date. During the Revolution a 
shop for the repair of muskets, and a foundry for cannon 
were established here, and from this little beginning sprung 
the great United States Armory, at once the pride of residents 
and the wonder of visitors. From the depot, one may take a 
carriage, the street cars or omnibuses, or may walk down 
Main to State street, thence eastward half a mile, and up a 
rather steep ascent to the entrance, which is through a fine 
large gate, breaking the monotony of -a splendid iron fence 
which encloses a beautiful natural park of 72 acres, on Arsenal 
Hill, a broad, nearly level plateau, on which stands the quad- 
rangle of massive brick buildings, enclosing a large and 
handsome green. The works are at present on a peace foot- 
ing, and employ only 500 to 700 men, but during the Rebellion 
the works ran night and day, some 3000 men found employ- 
ment and about 800,000 stand of arms were manufactured. In 
the Arsenal, a large square building on the west side of Union 
Square, are stored 175,000 stand of arms, in solid squares, 
reaching from floor to ceiling of the lofty rooms. From the 
deck of the Arsenal Tower, a magnificent panorama spreads 
before us. On the north are Mounts Tom and Holyoke, twin 
sentinels at the gateway of the river, to the east are the lofty 
table lands of Willbraham and Ludlow, and to the west West 
Springfield's fertile farming lands, the sinuous Agawam river 
and the hills of Russell and Chester for a background. One 
mile south from the Armory proper, are the Water Shops, on 
the Mill river, where the heavy forgings and castings are 
made and where the gun barrels are tested. There are many 
lovely drives in and around Springfield. Crescent Hill, with 
the splendid residences of O. H. Greenleaf, J. G. Chase, Geo. 
B. Howard and many other wealthy citizens. Long Hill, 
Round Hill, where is the splendid villa of Dr. William G. 
Breck ; Brightwood, with the summer residences of Dr. J. G. 
Holland (Timothy Titcomb) and George M. Atwater, and 
many other beautiful spots can be visited in a short circuit. 
The City Library on State street, is a handsome structure. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 73 

exceedingly commodious and well arranged, from the designs 
of George Hathorne, the architect, of New York, who also 
built the splendid villas of Dr. Breck, O. H. Greenleaf and 
others mentioned above, and the fine buildings of the Spring- 
field Institution for savings, corner of Main and State streets, 
the most prominent corner in the citj. The new court house 
on Elm street, running through to West State and fronting on 
Court Square, is a massive granite structure costing $200,000. 
It has a tall clock tower, balconies, etc., the Italian style. The 
North and South Congregational churches (both new), the 
church of the Unity, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. 
Michael, the Memorial church at the base of Round Hill and 
the new State street Methodist church are the finest religious 
edifices. The new High School building on State street, 
opposite the City Library, is a large, fine and commodious 
structure of brick with granite trimmings, and a lofty tower. 
There are two fine hotels, the Massasoit, close by the depot, 
long famous for its table, and the Haynes House, corner of 
Main and Pynchon streets, down town, away from the noise 
and smoke of the railway, and everyway a first-class house. 
Its owner, Tilly Haynes, has done as much any one man for 
the growth and prosperity of Springfield, and is the owner of 
the neat and cosy opera house on the opposite corner. Hamp- 
den Park, the famous scene of the Springfield races, lies on 
the alluvial meadow near the river, north of the city, and one 
of the finest courses in the country, for a rowing regatta is 
that just below the city. Two or three miles north are the 
villages of Chicopee and Chicopee Falls, noted for their cot- 
ton manufactures, and the former as. well for the Ames Manu- 
facturing Company's works, whence were turned out thousands 
of swords and hundreds of cannon and equipments during 
the rebellion, and where were cast the superb bronze doors 
of the Senate at Washington, the equestrian statue of Wash- 
ington in the Boston Public Garden, and the statues of many 
Soldiers' monuments. 
4 



74 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

Up Through the Berkshire Hilxs. 

Leaving Springfield the train crosses the Connecticut river 
on a splendid iron open bridge recently built, passes through 
the southern portion of West Springfield, along the left bank 
of the Agawam or Westfield river, through Westfield, (the 
Indian Woronoco), and famous for its manufactures of whips 
(a quarter of million yearly), and genuine Havana cigars (of 
Connecticut Valley seed leaf, — io,ono,ooo to 12,000,000 a 
year). For its State Normal School with its 200 embryo 
school ma'ms, and its Soldiers' Monument, surmounted by a 
bronze statue in heroic size. Here the New Haven and North- 
ampton Railroad crosses our line, and furnishes another con- 
nection between the mountains and the seaboard. From 
Westfield we ascend the valley of the river, with Mounts 
Tekoa and Pochassic towering above us on the right, pass 
the small stations of Russell and Huntington, and stop at 
Chester, a considerable center of communication and traffic 
with the surrounding mountain towns, and the location of a 
valuable emery mine. From Chester, the steep ascent of the 
mountains begin, and we climb for thirteen miles at the rate 
of 80 feet to the mile. Some long stretches have gradients of 
82 feet. Becket, Washington, the highest point on the road, 
Hinsdale and Dalton, hill towns, famous for their rocks, ro- 
mantic scenery and exhilarating air, are passed, and we arrive 
at the elegant station tn Pittsfield. 

Pittsfield and its Beauties. 

Pittsfield, the capitol of Berkshire county, is one of the 
youngest cities in the State, with about 12,000 inhabitants, 
many noted manufactories and a great variety of beauties, 
natural and artificial. It is 53 miles west of Springfield, and 
151 from Boston. Among the former, must preeminently rank 
its ladies, the fame of whose beauty extends throughout the 
Commonwealth. No susceptible bachelor can risk a visit to 
Pittsfield, especial]}' to the vicinity of Maplewood Institute, if 



TOURISTSJ HANDBOOK. 75 

he expects to get home heart-whole. In the same class 
(natural beauties), must, of course, be placed the mountains 
and lakes, which environ Pittsfield on either hand. The town 
is built on a loftj plateau, some 1200 feet above the sea level, 
and the Hoosac mountains to the east, and the Taconies to 
the west, completely encircle it. Lake Ashlej, whence comes 
the abundant and crystal water supply, Lake Onota, Lake 
Pontoosuc, Berry Pond, West Pond, Melville Lake or Lilly 
Bowl, Silver Lake, Sylvan Lake, and several nameless lochs 
are near the city, and are frequently visited. The Wahconah 
Falls, Lulu Cascade, South Mountain (whence a magnificent 
view is gained), and other hills and valleys are worthy of 
visits. New Lebanon Springs, a popular watering place, lies 
some 15 miles west, and on the way thither is the famous 
Shaker Village. Among the artificial beauties of Pittsfield 
the fine Soldiers' Monument, in the centre of the old green, 
attracts attention first. It bears a magnificent bronze statue 
by Launt Thompson, of a color bearer, standing on a massive 
pedestal. The dedication, September 24, 1872, called together 
the largest crowd ever gathered in Berkshire county, and was 
the occasion of a grand celebration. The elegant white mar- 
ble Court House, the Berkshire Athenaeum Building, the fine 
white marble Cathedral of St. Joseph, the Berkshire Life 
Insurance Company's Building, and the Maplewood Institute 
(surrounded by a magnificent grove), are among the finest 
public buildings. At Pittsfield, the Housatonic Railroad run- 
ing south, through Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge and Great Bar- 
rington, all famous for their magnificent scenery, enters 
Connecticut, and finally reaches Long Island Sound at Bridge- 
port. The North Adams branch runs north from Pittsfield, 
through Lanesboro, Cheshire and South Adams, and forms 
a connection with the Hoosac Tunnel line. 

Across the Line and so to Albany. 

Passing to the southwest a few miles, we reach the State 
line and cross the imaginary barrier into New York State. 



76 TOURTSrS' HANDBOOK. 

From this point we traverse Canaan, which, though not " a 
land flowing with milk and honej" exactly, is a romantic 
and mountainous town enough, and soon arrive at Chatham. 
This place is particularly notable as the crossing point of 
the Harlem Extension Railroad, from New York City to 
Bennington and Rutland, Vt., and as the point whence the 
Hudson and Boston Railroad (leased by the Boston and 
Albany) branches off in a southwesterly curve to Hudson, a 
thriving city on the noble river of that name. From Chat- 
ham our course is a little west of north, through Kinder- 
hook, Schodack and Clinton, the scenery growing less wild 
all the way to Greenbush, or East Albany, on the Hudson, 
which we cross on a splendid open bridge, and are landed in 
Albany. This city and the route hence to Saratoga have 
already been described. 




CHAPTER III. 



The Hoosac Tunnel Koute to Saratoga. 

'^^TAVING left Boston from the Fitchburg depot 

precisely as described for 
the Rutland route, our 
course follows that till 
we reach South Ash- 
burnham, 6i miles from 
Boston, where a "Y" 
sets us off in a more 
westerly dii-ection, and 
we are soon speeding 
over the Vermont and 
Massachusetts Division. 
From Wachusett, stages 
rvm to Princeton, a few 
miles south, where is a 
popular Sumixier resort, 
and whence Wachusett Mountain, already mentioned, is as- 
cended. Gardner and Templeton, hill towns, noted for their 
manufactories of wooden ware, are passed within ten miles 
distance, and we enter the fertile and picturesque valley of 
Miller's River. The railroad is elevated on an embankment, 
giving fine glimpses of Monadnock, the intermediate hills and 
the river at our feet. Baldwinville, Royalston, Athol, Orange, 
Wendell and Erving are passed in the next 20 miles. All are 

(77) 




78 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

quiet little towns, noted for their rural beauty and for oc^ 
casional bits of wild and romantic scenery, of which we gain 
only too brief views from the car windows as we fly past. 
At Grout's Corner, 98 miles from Boston, the New London 
Northern Railroad, from Long Island Sound, up through 
Willimantic, Conn., Palmer and Amherst, Mass., crosses our 
route, and continues northward through South Vernon to 
Brattleboro, Vt. The road follows the Connecticut river 
eleven miles to South Verijon, a small and unimportant vil- 
lage, and thence ten miles further to Brattleboro, a thriving 
manufacturing town, noted as the birthplace of Colonel James 
Fisk, Jr., and the place of his burial. A splendid monument 
to his memory, the work of Larkin G. Mead, the sculptor, 
was dedicated with imposing ceremonies on the 30th May, 
(Memorial Day) 1874, the Ninth Regiment of New York 
National Guard, which Colonel Fisk commanded, participat- 
ing. Here a pleasant stopping place will be found at the 
Brattleboro House, owned by Jacob Estey, Esq., a prominent 
citizen, and ably managed by Mr. H. A. Kilburn, whose long 
experience in hotel keeping, insures the comfort of his guests. 
The house has been remodeled in excellent style and all the 
comforts are to be found here. Six miles from Brattleboro 
are the famous Guilford Springs. From Grout's Corner the 
route leaves the Miller's River valley, and passing through 
the town of Montague, crosses the Connecticut river on an 
open bridge, which affords a fine view in either direction of 
the beautiful stream and the romantic scenery of its banks. 
Just below this point, the Deerfield river empties into the 
Connecticut, from the west; we cross it and proceed up its 
valley to Greenfield, 106 miles from Boston, the county seat 
of Franklin county. 

Greenfield and its Environs. 

Greenfield is a beautiful village, rural in its appearance 
and charming in its location, though in its industries and its 



Tourists^ handbook: *jg 

population it is a thrifty and prosperous town. It lies spread 
out upon the fertile meadows which border the Connecticut, 
the Deerfield and the Green rivers. The latter gives its 
name and furnishes the power to the Russell cutlery works, 
which employ some 600 men and turn out immense quanti- 
ties of goods yearly. Here are also woolen mills, tool facto- 
ries, etc., among the industries of the place. The square in 
the centre of the village is one of the prettiest examples of 
the rural New England "plaza;" its soldiers' monument in 
the middle being fronted and overlooked by the Town Hall, 
the Court House, and a fine stone church, while the sides of 
the square are filled in with handsome residences, stores, etc. 
There are, perhaps, as many objects of interest and places of 
favorite resort in the immediate vicinity of Greenfield as near 
any other place in New England. Not only have the numer- 
ous rivers which course down from the hills produced many 
objects of wild and romantic beauty, but tradition and his- 
tory throw their charm over the region, and take us back to 
the early days when the settlers took their lives in their 
hands and only held on to them by the bravery with which 
they fought the heathen until they had driven them out. 
Near this place the Connecticut makes a descent of 36 feet, 
forming a waterfall, which Dr. Hitchcock pronounces the 
most interesting in the State. The Turner's Falls Company 
has here built a huge curved dam, and established manufacto- 
ries which are expected to some day rival Lowell and Law- 
rence. Deerfield, a quiet farming town, lies five miles south 
of Greenfield. Coleraine, Leyden and Shelburne are towns 
in the immediate vicinity of which each has a gorge to 
boast; a dark, deep, narrow chasm, cut by the waters of the 
rivers which course through them, adorned with cascades 
and set in a framework of lofty hills. Arthur's Seat and the 
Poet's Seat are high and romantic hills overlooking the 
neighboring villages, the rich intervales, and the meander- 
ing streams. Leaving Greenfield, the road makes a detour to 
the south to avoid the disagreeable alternative of climbing 



go Tourists'' handbook. 

over Arthur's Seat, and then, following the course of the 
Deeilield river, enters the dark and glaomv but majestic 
Deerfield Gorge, through which the river finds its way be- 
tween Shelburne and Conway. So narrow is this defile that, 
before the construction of the railway, enthusiastic natural- 
ists and lovers of the romantic could hardly pick their way 
on foot through it. At Shelburne Falls, 129 miles from Bos- 
ton, the river leaps downward over a succession of giant 
stairs, which look as if hewn in the solid rock, finding a new 
level 150 feet below. Here is a large cutlery establishment. 
Passing through Buckland, Charlemont and Zoar, small hill- 
towns, noted for their bold and rugged peaks, their romantic 
glens, and the flavor of tradition dating back to the old 
Indian wars, we reach Hoosac Tunnel Station, 136 miles 
from Boston, and get our first view of the world-famous 
mountain and the yawning entrance to the " great bore." 

The Hoosac Tunnel and its History. 

The situation of the mountain (which is not only the great 
barrier between east and west, but, as it were, the centre of 
attraction to visitors among the northern Berkshire hills) 
may, at the outset, need some explanation. The Hoosac 
Mountain has two crests with an intermediate valley; the 
Deerfield river washes the eastern base and the Hoosac the 
western. Most tunnels are built on an ascending grade, as 
some descent is necessary to carry off the water; but these 
two rivers being at precisely the same height above tide- 
water, the mountain had to be entered at the same point at 
both ends, so that the only way to secure drainage was to 
have a summit at the centre, from which the grade descends 
about 26 feet in the mile to either portal. The crest over- 
looking the Deerfield valley is about 1,450 feet above the 
riverbed; the Hoosac peak is 1,750 feet, and the lowest de- 
pression between these tops is some Soo feet above the 
grade. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 8 1 

Description of the Tunnel. 

According to the terms of the last contract, which was 
agreed upon in 1869, and under which the tunnel was com- 
pleted, one railroad track was to be laid through its length, 
and all unnecessary material removed by the first day of 
March, 1874. The tunnel was not fully in readiness for use 
at the time specified in the contract; but the contractors who 
undertook the work so faithfully performed their duty that 
the State did not insist upon too rigid a fulfilment of the let- 
ter of the agreement. In no better waj^ can the magnitude of 
the undertaking be made manifest, than by giving a few sta- 
tistics in regard to the tunnel. It is 25.031 feet in length, 
and nearly midway in its length rises the central shafts which 
terminates near the top of Hoosac Mountain, and is 1,040 
feet deep. This shaft is oval in form, the major axis of 
27 feet being coincident with the line of the tunnel, and 
the minor axis being 15 feet. It has been said that the sec- 
tions on either hand of the central shaft were of nearly 
equal length. The section opening at the eastern portal is 
12,837 feet long, while that to the west of the central shaft 
is in length 12,194 feet. 

The First Plan for a Tunnel. 

It was as long ago as 1825, that a Board of Commissioners 
was duly appointed to consider the practicability of building a 
canal from Boston to the Hudson river, having its western 
terminus at the place where the great Erie Canal, the pride of 
the time, emptied its waters into the river. After a careful 
examination into the various routes which were proposed, 
with more or less eagerness and zeal, by the rising politicians 
of the Commonwealth in that day, the Commissioners sub- 
mitted a report in favor of following the course of the Deer- 
field and Hoosac rivers, and of passing through the Berkshii-e 
hills by means of a tunnel through the Hoosac Mountain. 
4* 



3 2 TOlTRISTS' HAN£>BOOI^. 

But just as the subject began to be discussed, the railroad 
began to be heard of; so that, in the interest and enthusiasm 
which was felt for the new mode of conveyance, all the labor 
and all the arguments of the Canal Commission were forgot- 
ten. 

The First Charter. 

With the history of the railroad in this Commonwealth our 
description has to do only so far as it is connected and inter- 
woven with the history of the tunnel ; but it may be said that 
the tunnel line had its birth when the Vermont and Massa- 
chusetts Railroad Company was formed. One year before, 
the Fitchburg road had been built in a thorough and substan- 
tial manner in the short space of less than two years. Only 
six years after the completion of the last-named road, a 
charter was granted by the General Court, acting in obedi- 
ence to popular demand, to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad 
Company, giving the corporation the right to build their line 
from near Greenfield to the State line at Williamstown, and 
there to connect with a railroad which should be built from 
Troy to that point. There was no mention made in the char- 
ter of a tunnel through Hoosac Mountain, but it is quite evi- 
dent that the tunnel formed a part of the plan. 

Application for State Aid. 

Subscriptions to the capital stock were few and far between, 
and, before a year had elapsed, the corpoi-ation determined to 
apply to the General Court for a loan of the State's credit ; 
and it was in the Legislature of iSqi that the contest on the 
tunnel began. There were to be found many who remon- 
strated against the State's taking any action in the matter ; 
but, after mature deliberation, the committee came to the con- 
clusion that ^1,948,557 was a sum more than enough to finish 
the tunnel, and that allowing plenty of time for accidents and 
hindrances, 1556 working days would amply suffice for the 
accomplishment of the work if no shaft were sunk. With a 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. ^t^ 

shaft, the committee were sanguine enough to suppose that 
the tunnel could be completed in 1954 days. The discussion 
was not very brisk, however, until the plan for State aid had 
been broached ; and the editor of every country paper in the 
Commonwealth had then something to say on the subject. 
In the Legislature the contest was slowly but fiercely carried 
on; and on the 12th of May the project for a State loan was 
defeated by the strong vote of 108 in favor to 237 opposed. 
In 1852 the vexed subject was dropped, the managers of the 
Troy line doubtless feeling that there was nothing to be ex- 
pected from the General Court of that year; but, in the year 
following, the corporation again appeared at the bar of the 
Legislature, asking for a loan from the State. On the 26th of 
April, in the closing days of the session, the bill was passed 
to be engrossed by a vote of 143 to 96. But so much opposi- 
tion was manifested, not only by some of the most influential 
journals of the time, but by men whose opinion was powerful 
in influencing the popular mind, that, when the measure 
came up for final action, the loan bill was lost and the tunnel 
postponed for still another year. In the following year, how- 
ever, the advocates of State aid renewed the contest, and had 
the satisfaction of finding their labors at last crowned with 
success. 

The First Loan Granted. 

The law providing for the first Hoosac Tunnel loan was 
drawn up with great care, and even the opponents of the 
tunnel conceded that no pains were spared to keep the credit 
of the Commonwealth untarnished in the transaction, which 
it was confidently predicted would make the State bankrupt 
before 20 years. The sum of .$2,000,000 in sterling bonds 
was fixed upon as the amount to be loaned by the State, and 
to be paid in instalments of $100,000 each. In order to pro- 
perly provide for the State's credit, various regulations were 
made. Under these restrictions the enterprise did not attract 
capital, and subscriptions were sent in with alarming infre- 
quency. 



84 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK'. 

The Earliest Contracts. 

But nevertheless the contract for the road, which had hither- 
to existed only on paper and in the imaginations of its pro- 
jectors, was awarded in spite of the scarcity of funds ; and the 
work of constructing the line, tunnel and all, was given in 
1855 to Messrs. E. W. Sewell & Co. of Philadelphia, for the 
sum of $3,500,000, which was subsequently annulled. But 
hardly had two months elapsed when negotiations were en- 
tered into with the firm of Hermann Haupt & Co. ; and in July, 
1856, the first contract was made with those gentlemen, who 
seem to have had great confidence in the success of the enter- 
prise. By the agreement, Messrs. Haupt & Co. were to build 
the road afid tunnel for the sum of f 3,880,000, the money to 
be obtained as follows : From the Commonwealth, $2,000,- 
000; in mortgage bonds of the company, $900,000; in capital 
stock, $598,000; in cash, $382,000. Six thousand shares of 
the stock were to be taken by Haupt & Co., no cash assess- 
ments to be laid thereon, but the amount due to be paid in 
work, as stock credits. After another application for State 
aid, in 1857, ^^e Legislature voted to send a special committee 
to"T;he tunnel itself, and to make a report on the condition of 
matters. This was the first of the many official visits which 
legislators have, from time to time, paid to the romantic 
neighborhood of Hoosac Mountain. In a month's time, the 
committee made a report, showing that 621 feet had been 
pierced at the eastern portal, and 185 feet at the west of the 
mountain ; and thereupon arose the most famous controversy 
in the history of the Hoosac Tunnel. On the question of modi- 
fying the requirements of the loan act, there were presented, 
finally, two reports. The majority and the minority — the 
last consisting of one member — in the committee agreed that 
the rigor of the act should be relaxed ; and all but one obsti- 
nate gentleman were willing to be liberal with the company, 
and give them every reasonable oppoi-tunity to complete the 
work which they had in hand. On the 14th of May, there- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 85 

fore, a bill was passed bj both houses of the Legislature bj 
heavy majorities, and the matter was vetoed bj Governor 
Henry J. Gardner of "Know Nothing" fame. 

A Legislative Investigation. 

In i860, after various vicissitudes, it occurred to the Legis- 
lature that it would be well for a committee to pay a visit to 
Hoosac and to see how the work was going on. That there 
was any suspicion that the corporation and the contractors 
were not doing all that was required by law there seems to be 
no evidence. But the committee found a state of things 
around Hoosac Mountain which they little anticipated. The 
State Engineer, in his report on the condition of the road in 
1858, said that " the total length of rails laid was seven miles, 
138 feet," but when the committee came to enquire into the 
subject, it was found that the road was not completed for that 
distance, but that there were several places where the road 
was not passable. In January, i860, the third instalment of 
scrip had been paid, it being certified that the road had been 
graded three miles further. But the committee found out 
that in this length of three miles there were fourteen gaps, 
every point where a bridge, culvert or cutting was to be made, 
had been left untouched. This statement was submitted by 
the committee to the Legislature, without note or comment, 
and the matter was remanded to the special committee on the 
tunnel. 

The Haupt Contract Annulled. 

The company struggled on with the work during the year, 
and fornearly half the year following; until in July, 1861, the 
State Engineer, finding that the contractors failed to do the 
prescribed amount of work, refused to certify their bills, and 
the Troy and Greenfield corporation, after so many years of 
hard work, laid down the Hoosac Tunnel enterprise, and so 
the history of the project under private management came to 
an end. For two years nothing was done, though Governor 



86 TOURISTS' handbook:. 

Andrew, in his message to the Legislature, in 1862, recom- 
mended the General Com-t to take prompt action. The whole 
subject was, early in the session, referred to a special com- 
mittee, who gave a patient hearing to all parties interested, 
and, in March, presented a report, with whose conclusions 
each member of the committee agreed. This report regarded 
the faith of the State as pledged to an investment of at least 
$2,000,000, on account of the tunnel, and saw no reason why 
the State could not undertake the work single-handed. The 
action of the State Engineer, sustained bj the opinion of 
the Attorney-General, the Hon. Dwight Foster, was declared 
to have resulted from a misapprehension of the meaning of 
the legislative act of i860. The committee, on the assump- 
tion that "no one contemplated aid from the State to an 
extent exceeding f 2,000,000," recommended that the road east 
of the tunnel should be completed by the State, at an expense 
not greater than $195,000; and that the work of tunnelling 
should be paid after a "red-tape" system, which need not 
here be given, as the bill never passed the Senate, and was 
never heard of in the House. The measure was lost on the 
2ist of April, by the casting vote of ex-Governor Clifford, and 
in its place a measure was offered by the Hon. William D. 
Swan, of Dorchester, which provided that the State should 
at once possess itself of the road and tunnel, and proceed 
to finish it, in any way thought best; and, when done, to 
run it or leave it, as might be thought advisable. The bill 
passed both houses, with an amendment limiting the entire 
expenditure to be incurred by the State, under this and all 
previous bills, to $2,000,000, and Governor Andrew approved 
the measure on the 28th of April. 

State Commissioners Appointed. 

The State having, in spite of a vigorous opinion, commit- 
ted itself to the completion of the tunnel, if the project was 
a thing to be accomplished by mortals, three Commissioners, 



TOURISTS' HANt)BOdK. 87 

Messrs. John W. Brooks, S. M. Felton and Alexander Holmes, 
were appointed, who entered upon' their work earlj in May. 
The directors of the Troj and Greenfield road, voted in 
August, to surrender the property of the corporation to the 
State, and on the 13th of October, after some necessary de- 
lays, the President of the road, and the firm of Hermann 
Haupt & Co., submitted to the act of the State and relin- 
quished all right, title and interest in the tunnel. Nothing 
had been done on the tunnel since the Haupt contract had 
been cancelled in 1861 ; and the mountain, when the Com- 
mission resumed operations in August, 1863, had been pierced 
only at the east end to any extent, and there only to a dis- 
tance which was less than one-tenth of the smallest estimate 
of the length of the shaft when completed. The five years 
of tunnelling, under the State Commission, forms an interest- 
ing chapter in the history of the great Hoosac bore, and 
makes a record of steady and persevering work, in the face of 
every obstacle, of which those concerned may well feel an 
honest pride, although they can boast of but little actually 
accomplished. 

Compressed Air as a Motive Power. 

Up to this time all the actual work had been accomplished 
by hand power. The much vaunted "boring machines," 
which were to run straight through the mountain, had left 
only their unpleasant memories behind them. But just at 
this time the use of compressed air as a motive power began 
to be discussed. In the previous year's session, opinions had 
been given in favor of the project ; and the Commission now 
thought in what way such motor power might be attained. 
After much discussion it was decided to dam the Deerfield 
River at a point about three-quarters of a mile from the eastern 
portal, and bringing the water from thence to the tunnel by a 
canal, thus securing a fall of about 30 feet. The project pro- 
voked a storm of opposition, and was characterized as a great 
and most costly blunder. But the Commissioners stoutly 



88 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

maintained its utility, and asserted that it would not only 
furnish a constant supply of compressed air at the east end, 
but that its benefits could reach the central and new west 
shaft workings, with only the expense of carrying the pipes 
over the mountain. The result has at any rate disproved the 
charge of total inefficiency which was brought against the 
Deerfield dam project by its many opponents, for sufficient 
power was furnished almost constantly for the working at the 
east end, though the plan never worked at the the opposite 
side of the mountain. 

The Results Accomplished, in 1864. 

Work went on steadily through the Winter of 1863-64; and 
in September of the latter year the following report was writ- 
by State Engineer Doane, showing the progress of the under- 
taking : At the west end, a new portal had been cU ared, and 
the machinery was in readiness to begin the work of tunnel- 
ing. At the shaft on the west, where nearly 60 feet had been 
pierced by Haupt & Co., the west working had gone forward 
45 feet, and the east working 128 feet. The east end shaft 
had not made any progress, but the work of enlargement had 
been carried on with some success. Work on the central 
shaft had only been fairly begun ; in the following January, 
1865, it had been sunk only to the depth of 74 feet. Such was 
the record up to the Spring of 1865. In March of that year, 
the work of cutting down the breast of the work in the tunnel- 
ling from the east was brought to a conclusion, and hencefor- 
ward, progress was made from the bottom, instead of the top 
of the tunnel. The work had made a statisfactory progress, 
the gain in one year being 239^ feet. At the central shaft 
pi-ogress had been made to the depth of 127 feet, the shaft 
being lighted by naphtha gas in October. 

The Years 1866 and 1867. 

The year 1866 chronicles some important events at the 
tunnel. In June, the new machine drills for the use of com- 



TOURISTS* HAMT)BOOK. 89 

pressed air at the eastern end were introduced, the machinery 
of the water works having been in readiness the previous 
January. At first the progress made was less than what had 
been accomplished by hand-power ; but certain improvements 
were soon made, which resulted in the success of the experi- 
ment, so far as the east end was concerned. At the west 
shaft, nitro-glycerine was introduced, and brought into use 
everywhere, except at the east end. The total amount pierced 
was : East end, 3473 ; west shaft, eastward, 1042 ; central 
shaft, 377. The total length of headings, excepting at the 
west end, was 4813 feet, of which 1325^ feet is to be credited 
to the work of the 13 months ending December i, 1866. 
During 1867 further improvements were made. The water 
had increased so much at the west shaft, east heading, that 
work was suspended until June, when a new contract was 
made with Mr. Farren, for the work on the west end of the 
tunnel, requiring brick arching ; and Messrs. Dall, Gowan & 
Co. contracted to undertake the work at the east end and 
central shaft, during the months of August, September and 
October. Under these gentlemen the work was carried on 
throughout the year, with the following result: The west 
heading, from the west shaft was carried forward 313 feet, 
while the gain at the eastward heading was 252 feet ; at the 
east end, an advance had been made in 13 months of 1235 feet, 
and the central shaft had been sunk to a depth of 206 feet 
fnrther than a year before. Under Mr. Farren's contract, the 
brick tunnel from the west end had been carried forward to a 
length of 4142 feet, with an additional heading of 297 feet. A 
summary of the year's work, therefore indicates a total length 
of tunnel and heading of 7324^ feet, of which amount 251 1^ 
feet were gained by the labor of the past 13 months. 

1868— A Legislative Battle. 

But the battle which was waged on the subject in the Gene- 
ral Court of 1868 was long and bitter. The enemies of the 



go TOURISTS' HANDBOOK'. 

tunnel project spared no effort to induce the Legislature to 
abandon the undertaking on which had been spent so many- 
millions of dollars. On the 15th May, the Special Committee 
on the Tunnel reported a bill appropriating $250,000 for the 
completion of the railroad, $600,000 for work on the tunnel 
during the year, together with $350,000 for interest on debt ; 
and, moreover, authorizing the Governor, by and with the 
advice of the Council, to enter into a contract for the com- 
pletion of the road and tunnel, and to dispose of the State's 
interest in the enterprise on such terms as appeared advisable. 
On the nth of June, after one bill had been passed by a small 
majority and found to be illegal, a second supplementary bill 
prevailed in both houses and received the Governor's signa- 
ture. The bill embodied the features of the first section of 
the bill submitted by the Tunnel Committee, but was amended 
by Mr. Packard so as to authorize the making of a contract to 
complete the entire work, provided it could be done in seven 
years, at an expenditure of not more than $5,000,000, and to 
preclude any expenditure by the State in work not done under 
contract after October i. Other amendments made up the 
bill as it passed finally to be a law, requiring "satisfactory 
guarantees " from the contractors, and withholding at least 
$1,000,000 from the contract price until the enterprise was 
completed. The record of work accomplished when opera- 
tions were entirely discontinued, in October, shows that in 
nine months the east end heading had advanced 574 feet ; 
amount pierced at the west end, west shaft and well No. 4 
workings, 1504 feet, and in all 208S. There remained to be 
completed, 15,693 feet of tunnel and 457 feet of depth in the 
central shaft. 

The Shanley Contract. 

When the proposals for the contract were sent into the Gov- 
ernor and Council, it was found that the estimates varied 
from $4,027,780 to $5,378,354. Of the twelve bids which were 
made, only four were within the limit of $5,000,000, fixed by 



TOURISTS' HANTlBOOlC. Qt 

the Legislature to defray the expense of tunnelling, and to 
liquidate outstanding liabilities which amounted to about 
^250,000. Messrs. Francis and Walter Shanlej, of Canada, 
made a tender to undertake the enterprise at $4,623,069. 
Although this was next to the highest bid made bj the four 
whose proposals fell within the necessary limit, the Legisla- 
ture had not required that the contract should be given to the 
lowest bidder, and in consideration of the deposit of public 
securities to the amount of $500,000 as a satisfactory guaran- 
tee, as well as in view of the long experience and excellent 
reputation of the firm, Governor Bullock gave the contract to 
the Messrs. Shanly, after long consultation with the Council. 
The contract was signed on the 19th of December, 1868, but 
work was not actually begun until the 29th of March, in the 
year following, when operations were resumed at the heading 
at the east end. The record of work done up to the close of 
the year showed that the total length of the east end heading 
was 6522 feet, and of the west end, 4505; in all, 11,027 feet 
out of 25,031. In 1870, steady progress was made, the cen- 
tral shaft completed to a depth of 102S feet, two feet less than 
required by contract, and work commenced on a heading in 
each direction. In August, sixteen feet had been built in 
either direction, exclusive, of course, of the width of the 
shaft. The record for the year is to the effect that 15 14 feet 
had been pierced at the east end, 1203 feet at the west end, 
and 60 and 80 feet east and west of the central shaft ; thus, 
during the year, 2864 feet of tunnelling had been pierced, 
leaving only 11,140 feet to be accomplished. In 1871, a large 
flow of water prevented progress to any great extent in the 
central shaft, and it was generally thought that the contrac- 
tors would be unable to complete the tunnel in the given time. 
The aggregate of progress showed a gain of 1743 feet at the 
east end, 1380 feet at the west end, and 430 feet east and west 
of the central shaft; in all, 17,446 feet accomplished, and 
divided as follows: east end, 9779 feet; central shaft, east, 
337 feet; central shaft, west, 240 feet; west end, 7090. The 



92 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



contractors worked so faithfully during the year 1872 that the 
average required by contract was much exceeded, excellent 
progress being made in every direction except at the central 
shaft, west heading, where an advance was made of only 119 
feet. On December 12th, a junction was made between the 
east end and central shaft workings. It will be, perhaps, 
remembered, that when the lines met, a varation of but five- 
sixteenths of an inch could be discerned. 

The Mountain Pierced. 

In 1873, work was pushed so vigorously that there, was 
remaining to be done, November i, 1873, 242 feet. The rec- 
ord thereafter stands : 

November 8, advanced from central shaft, west, 
November 8, advanced from west end east, 

November 15, advanced from central shaft west, 
November 15, advanced from west end east, 

November 22, advanced from central shaft west, 
November 22, advanced from west end east, 



Total, 201 

Remaining to be pierced, November 23, 41 

Leaving, on November 23, forty-one feet to be completed, 
which work was completed on that day in the presence of a 
large number of State officials, railroad men and journalists, 
who passed through the opening in the wall of rock, and made 
the tour of the Hoosac Mountain, underground. From that 
time only the work of blasting out the tunnel to its full size, 
laying the iron and completing the road at either end, re- 
mained ; and though this was in itself a considerable task, 
and involved a much greater outlay of time and money than 
any of the ardent friends of the enterprise foresaw, it has all 
been successfully accomplished, and the passage of the tunnel 
forms the most notable feature of one of the principal routes 
from Boston to Saratoga and the West. 



31 




25 






56 


42 




33 




— 


75 


41 




29 




— 


70 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 93 

ITcrth. Adams and its Surroundings. 

Emerging from the gloom of the tunnel, a short run over a 
descending grade and around a rather sharp curve, brings us 
to the prettj village of North Adams, situated at the forks of 
the Hoosac River, in a perfect amphitheatre of hills, from 
w^hich views both grand and charming are gained. Aside 
from its importance as a railway junction, — the Hoosac Tun- 
nel line and a branch of the Boston and Albany here meeting — 
North Adams has no inconsiderable prosperity as a manufac- 
turing village. Here are 20 cotton and woolen mills, power 
for which is furnished by the two branches of the Hoosac, 
which unite near the centre of the village, and several large 
shoe-factories. In one of these latter the first experiment in 
the Eastern States with "Chinese cheap labor" was tried by 
Mr. Sampson in 1870, some 75 Mongolians being imported 
from San Francisco. The population of North Adams is 
about 13,000 of which some 5000 souls are employed in the 
various factories. Here are several neat churches, a fine high 
school-house, many elegant residences and two hotels, the 
Ballou House and the Berkshire Hotel. There are many 
points of natural interest in and about North Adams. Ex- 
cursions are plenty and easily taken, for the ascent of Mount 
Greylock, for visits to the natural Bridge — one mile east of 
the village, — where Hudson's brook has worn a passage 30 
rods long and 15 feet wide through the solid marble, which 
stands an arch 30 to 60 feet high above — and where Haw- 
thorne was fond of straying and musing during a summer 
spent at North Adams in 1838 ; to the cascade on Notch Brook- 
one and a half miles from the village, where the water leaps 
down 30 feet ; and best of all, the drive over the Hoosac 
Mountain. The ride is eight miles in length. The west 
peak is scaled by a succession of zigzags constantly rising, 
and from its summit is gained a splendid view of the neigh- 
boring villages, the Hoosac Valley, Greylock and the Ver- 
mont hills. Then a swift descent brings us to the "saddleback" 



'94 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

or plateau between the summits, where we pass the central 
*• shaft of the tunnel. Then the eastern summit is climbed, and 
the view presented is grand and majestic, justifying fully 
Hawthorne's eloquent description : 

A noble view is obtained from this point, above the roman- 
tic gorge of the Deerfield river to Wachusett Mountain, and 
beyond it the blue and indistinctive scene extended to the 
east and north for at least sixty miles. Beyond the hills it 
looked almost as if the blue ocean might be seen. Monad- 
nock was visible like a sapphire cloud against the sky. The 
scenery on the east side of the Green Mountains is incompar- 
ably more striking than on the west, where the long swells 
and ridges have a flatness of effect. But on the eastern part, 
peaks one to two thousand feet high rush up on either bank 
of the river in ranges, thrusting out their shoulders side by 
side. Sometimes the precipice rises with abruptness from the 
immediate side of the river ; sometime, there is a valley on 
either side ; cultivated long, and with all the smoothness and 
antique rurality of a farm near cities, this gentle picture is 
strongly set ofl:' by the wild mountain frame around it. I 
have "never driven through such romantic scenery, where there 
was such variety and boldness of mountain shapes as this ; 
and though it was a sunny day, the mountains diversified the 
view with sunshine and shadow, and glory and gloom. 

Proceeding westerly by Troy and Boston Railroad from 
North Adams, a ride of about one mile brings us to the cross- 
ing of the highway to Williamstown and the Hoosac river. 
Here a small elm can be seen in a meadow, only a few rods 
from the track, marking the site of old Fort Massachusetts, one 
of the cordon of works built by the colonists in 1744 to guard 
the frontier. From this point, railroad, river and highway 
run amicably side by side through a narrow defile to Wil- 
liamstown, a lovely hamlet nestled in the lap of the moun- 
tains, and noted as the site of Williams College, as well as 
for its beautiful mountain and valley scenery. South of the 
village is Mount Hopkins, 2,Soo feet high, which is often 
ascended for the sake of the view from its summit. The Hop- 
per, also south from the colleges, is a vast gulf bounded by 
Greylock on the east, Prospect Mountain on the north and 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 95 

Bald Mountain on the south, and abounding in fine cascades 
and noble scenery. Snow Glen, where snow always re- 
mains, and Flora's Glen, where in 1812, William Cullen Bry- 
ant, then 18 years old, and a student at Williams College, 
wrote his " Thanatopsis," are places of interest in the vicini- 
ty. Two miles north of Williamstown is the famous Sand 
Spring, beneficial in cutaneous diseases, where is located 
Greylock Hall, a large new hotel. 

Into New York State. 

From Williamstown, which is the extreme northM^estern 
town of Massachusetts, our course is northwest, skirting the 
rocky town of Pownal, the southwest corner of Vermont, to 
Petersburg, the first town in New York State. Thence passing 
Hoosick Junction, where we cross the Harlem Extension rail- 
road, we are soon whirled into the Union depot at Troy, N. Y. 
Troy is the capitol of Rensselaer county, is the bead of naviga- 
tion on the Hudson, has about 50,000 inhabitants, is noted 
for its iron loundries, stove manufactories, bell foundries, 
prosperity, Willard Female Seminary, fine residences, paper 
collar works, breweries, laundries, and several other things, 
too numerous to mention. There are several handsome 
streets, bordered by elegant residences, and many fine church- 
es, but the chief glory of Troy is its thrift, springing from its 
many and varied industries, its commerce on the Hudson, its 
wide-spread tributary country, and its excellent educational 
advantages. On Mount Ida, a tall hill overlooking the city 
on the east, is St. Joseph's Theological Seminary, a Roman 
Catholic institution for the education of priests ; the Rens- 
selaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824 by Patroon Van 
Rensselaer, has a world-wide fame, while the Female Semi- 
nary, founded in 182 1 by Mrs. Emma Willard, has been pre- 
eminent for many years, and numbers over 7000 alumnae. 
West Troy, just across the Hudson river, which is spanned by 
a steam ferry, is a busy suburb, with its manufactories, over 
40 in number, and its Watervliet Arsenal, one of the largest 



96 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

of Uncle Sam's establishments. From Troj, morning and 
evening lines of boats run to New York city, stopping at Al- 
bany and other river ports ; trains leave the Union depot for 
Albany, New York and the West by New York Central and 
Hudson River Railroad ; for Albany, Saratoga and Rutland 
by Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, and for Boston and 
New England generally by the route over which we have 
come. Leaving the Union depot by the Rensselaer and Sara- 
toga train, a ride of six miles brings us to Albany Junction, 
where a branch from Albany, 12 miles distant, joins us, and 
we continue our course to Saratoga by rail as already de- 
scribed. 

A Rail Car Flirtation. 

The pleasures of a rail car ride to Saratoga are sometimes 
heightened, and its minor discomforts alleviated by an inno- 
cent flirtation, if opportunity serves, as graphically described 
in verse by Mr. J. Cheever Goodwin, of Boston : 

Laughing eyes and pouting lips, 

Dainty waist and taper, 
Sat she just across from me, 

Reading morning paper. 

Golden hair, befrizzled, in 
The style that's most in vogue, her 

Ticket in her hand explained 
She went to Saratoga. 

Much I pondered as I sat. 

Scanning her with caution, 
Whether the inviting chance 

I should welcome or shun. 

She was all alone, you see ; 

Should I greet her boldly? 
Would she welcome my approach 

Or receive me coldly? 



TOURISTS' handbook:. 97 

"Nothing venture, nothing have," 

Think I, as gets lost her 
Ticket on the floor,-r-and straight 

Find it and accost her. 

"Travelling alone?" I asked, 

"Yes," she answered sweetly; 
"But a friend will meet me, though," 

Added she discreetly. 

Thence progressed I rapidly, 

Shared her tempting luncheon. 
She, though circumspect, did not 

Any gentle fun shun. 

Much I wished, as on we sped, 

Toward our destination. 
That the train would practice some 

Slight procrastination. 

All in vain, too soon, alas ! 

Reached we Saratoga ; 
There was waiting for her, — well, 

Set him down an ogre. 

All this happened yesterday ; • 

Would you know the sequel? 
Listen to a moan, so -sad. 

Never was its equal. 

I, to-day, at each hotel, 

Diligently sought her, 
Hoping she might prove to be 

Some one's only daughter. 

And I found her, well-a-day ! 

Only child she maf be ; 
Certahi 'tis she's]]married, and 

Rejoices in a baby. 




CHAPTER IV. 



Saratoga and Its Attractions. 

HE village so famous in the 
annals of fashion is situated 
in a valley running nearly 
northeast and southwest, 
beneath the surface of which 
is nature's most potent labo- 
ratory, whose preparations 
come to the surface in scores 
of places within a few miles. 
The Ballston Spa, so famous 
a half century ago, are in 
the same valley at its south- 
ern end. Yet though the 
^' extent of territory in which 
these healing mineral springs 
have been found to exist is 
quite limited, yet within its 
extent and out of its scores of springs, no two alike are in 
chemical analysis or in therapeutic effects. And this is the 
greatest wonder of all, that such a wide diversity of compo- 
sition should exist in springs close together, — in some cases 
within the same enclosure. Of all the medicinal waters of 
Europe, the Spa of Belgium, the Seidlitz of Bohemia, the 
Selzer, Baden Baden and Aix of Germany, and the Chelten- 





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TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 99 

ham, Bath and Harrowgate of England, all are inferior in 
variety and power to the inexhaustible and health-giving 
springs of Saratoga. The site of the village is in the hear 
of the valley, itself some 300 feet above the sea, at the foot of 
the Kayaderosseras Mountains, which form the water-shed 
between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. The health- 
fulness of the location and its convenience to railroad facili- 
ties have made Saratoga a favorite Summer residence with 
wealthy people, who can afford to keep their own cottages or 
villas here, and who are yearly beautifying the place by the 
fine buildings they are erecting, and the handsome grounds 
they are laying out. The principal street is Broadway, which 
nearly follows the course of the valley, and on which the 
principal hotels front. Broadway is a fine, straight, wide 
avenue, and when crowded of an afternoon, with the elegant 
equipages of Saratoga's Summer residents, slowly moving 
up and down, as if on dress parade (which the ladies are), 
the sight is beautiful and full of life. Many of the most noted 
springs are on or near Broadway, and here the chief business 
of the place is transacted. The first knowledge of the heal- 
ing qualities of the waters hereabouts was gained by the Indi- 
ans, who in lyijy brought to the valley on a litter Sir William 
Johnson, Bart., a friend and patron of the amiable red men, 
and in a few weeks he was restored to health. The spring at 
which this cure was effected was the High Rock, which is still 
famous, and is distinguished from all other fountains by the 
mound of calcareous tufa, seven feet in diameter in the base 
and half that distance in height, which the waters have 
deposited in the course of centuries. This mound is in the 
form of a low cone, and from a hole some six or eight inches 
in diameter, at its centre, the clear and pleasant water bub- 
bles np. Naturally the superstitious savages harbored the 
most profound reverence for this healing spring, and the early 
settlers shared in their appreciation. Probably the next spring 
discovered was the Congress, which was first observed by a 
party of hunters, one of whom was ex-Congressman Oilman, 



100 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

(in honor of whom it was named Congress Spring), in 1792, 
as thej were strolling along the banks of the little creek, into 
which its waters trickled. Subsequently, being tubed, its flow 
was greatly increased, and it now is the most noted and one 
of the most prolific (if the word be applicable), of the healing 
waters. From time to time, within the present century, other 
springs have been discovered or developed by boring, until 
now, the valley for several miles is honeycombed with the 
tubes of inineral springs, bearing all sorts of names and pos- 
sessing all sorts of properties. To enumerate them all in 
proper order, we must suppose ourselves setting out to drive 
through the village, and visit each in turn, and as the inost 
natural course will begin at the very centre of the village, 
where, within a few rods of the three largest hotels, is the 
beautiful and world-famous 

Congress Park. 

This public pleasure ground, which is always the first 
place of interest visited by the newly-arrived, is a pretty en- 
closure of a few acres, of nearly triangular form, bordered by 
Broadway, Union Avenue and South Circular street, natural- 
ly diversified in contour, and covered with a handsome growth 
of trees. The proprietors, "Congress and Empire Spring 
Company," have laid out graveled walks, undulating lawns 
and secluded copses, and have placed statuaiy at various 
points, besides stocking the park with deer, which are very 
tame and roam freely, and building handsome structures over 
the two springs. Congress and Columbian, which stand near 
the corner of Broadway and Union Avenue. The Doric col- 
onade in the left of the illustration covers the Congress, and 
the Grecian dome to the right surmounts the Columbian. 
The park is the resort of thousands of people, residents and 
visitors, daily, and its shaded walks are a favorite stroll. 
Could the arching trees but speak, they could tell many a ro- 
mantic tale of sweet flirtations and delightful love-making 
which they have witnessed. Presumably, most people come 



i02 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

hither to drink the waters — some take half a dozen glasses at 
a dose, — but the winding paths, the sylvan nooks and the 
companionship of the dears are so productive of tender emo- 
tions, that many who come to drink remain to " spoon." 

The Congress Spring. 

The properties of the Congress water, which as well as the 
most celebrated, is among the most efficient of the Saratoga 
waters, and which, in bottles, can be found almost the world 
over, are pleasantly, but effectively cathartic. The taste is 
agreeable to most people, and the cool, sparkling draught is 
certainly one of the " easiest to take" of alljnedicines. The 
carbonic acid which causes its effervescence ^also imparts a 
vivacity to the water, which resembles that of soda water. In 
small quantities after meals, the Congress water gives tone to 
the stomach and clearness to the head, especially agreeable to 
those whose business tends to mental exhaustion and physical 
torpidity. The water is useful as a preventive of feverish 
and biliary disorders, headaches and the like, and is freely 
drank by the residents. To secure the fullest effect the water 
should be drank before breakfast, in quantities easily regula- 
ted by experience, its effect being aperient without subsequent 
reaction or languor, and a gradual diminution of the quantity 
leaves the bowels regular, and the general health and spirits 
greatly improved. As an alterative or tonic, the water should 
be taken sparingly through the day with brief intervals, and 
the effect is suprisingly beneficial. In cases of chronic dys- 
pepsia, diarrhea, jaundice and diseases of the kidneys, the 
water properly used will remove the evil accumulations from 
the bowels and stimulate the organs to the normal discharge 
of their functions. As a remedy for the disorders of seden- 
tary life, constipation, with all its resultant ills, and the dis- 
orders occasioned by " high living," the water has a most 
salutary effect. The operation of the Congress water, though 
certain and thorough, is free from griping pains, and its after 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, IO3 

effects pleasantly different from those of drastic purgatives. 
In submitting a new analysis of this water, which is given 
elsewhere, Professor C. F. Chandler, Ph. D., of Columbia. 
College, says : "A comparison of this with the analysis 
made by Dr. John H. Steel in 1832, proves that Congress 
water still retains its original strength, and all the virtues 
which established its well-merited reputation." It should be 
remembered that the water of this spring is sold in bottles 
only. What purports to be Congress water, for sale on 
draught in various places throughout the country, is not gen- 
uine. The artificial preparations thus imposed upon the 
public may have a certain resemblance in taste and appear- 
ance, but are frequently worse than worthless for medicinal 
purposes. 



The Columbian Spring. 



This spring, which is within a biscuit-toss of the Congress 
and owned by the same company, was opened in 1S06 by 
Gideon Putnam. The water issues from the natural rock, 
about seven feet below the surface of the ground, and is pro- 
tected by heavy wooden tubing. It is the most popular spring 
among the residents of Saratoga. The escaping bubbles of 
free carbonic acid gas give to the fountain a boiling motion. 
Large quantities of the gas can easily be collected at the 
mouth of the spring at any time. It is a fine chalybeate or 
iron water, possessing strong tonic properties. It also has a 
diuretic action, and is extensively used for that purpose. The 
water is recommended to be drank in small quantites during 
the day, generally -preceded by the use of the cathartic waters 
taken before breakfast. It is put up in half-pint bottles by the 
company, and is especially valuable in liver complaints, dys- 
pepsia, erysipelas, cutaneous diseases, chlorosis and many 
female complaints. 



I04 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 



The Empire Spring. 

The same company owns the Empire Spring, which is 
situated on Spring avenue, at the head of Circular street, and 




tOURiSTS' HANDBOOK. 



105 



near the base of a high limestone bluff, in the northerly part 
of the village, a few rods above the Star Spring, and about 
three-fourths of a mile from the Congress. Mineral water 
was known to trickle down the bank at this point ever since 
the land was cleared of its primitive shrubs. It was not till 
the year 1846 that the fountain was tubed. Tne proprietors 
have surrounded it with shade trees, built a pavilion over 
it and erected a large bottling house close at hand. The water 
much resembles that of the Congress Spring, but is more 
active, owing to a greater amount of magnesia. The Empire 
is highly esteemed for the treatment of obscure and chronic 
diseases, requiring alterative and diuretic remedies. It is also 
valuable as a preventive of intermittent, bilious and gastric 
fevers, dysentery and liver complaints, rheumatism, gout and 
cutaneous disorders, etc. The same rules apply to its use as 
have been given for the Congress water. Some systems take 
more kindly to the one, and some to the other water, but the 
general effect is much the same. Another celebrated water is 
that of 

The Star Spring, 




lo6 . TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

which is located near the Empire, on Spring avenue; Star 
Spring Company, proprietors, J. W. Dane, President. Under 
the name of President Spring, and afterward Iodine Spring, 
the fountain now called the Star has been known for nearly a 
century. It was first tubed in 1835. In 1865 the Star Spring 
Company was formed, and in the following year the spring 
was retubed under their direction. In 1870 they erected the 
finest bottling-house in Saratoga. Great care is taken to pre- 
serve the spring in a pure condition and perfect repair. The 
water has become immensely popular in New England, and 
throughout the United States and Canada. The proprietors of 
this spring, feeling the need of some method of transporting 
the water in bulk, to avoid the heavy cost of bottling, and the 
heavy freight upon the same, commenced in 1866 to send the 
water in barrels made of rock maple. This method proved a 
failure, as it was impossible to confine the gases in wood, and 
impossible to prepare the wood in a manner not to impart to 
the water its peculiar taste. They then prepared the tin-lined 
barrels (patent dated November, 1867) which proved a suc- 
cess. These bairels are used to convey the water to all parts 
of the country. It is then drawn into fountains, and charged 
lightly with gas to restore it to its original condition, and is 
dispensed by the glass, and is as palatable and effective as 
at the natural fountain. This method has become very popu- 
lar where known. For commercial use, the water is sold in 
cases of quarts and pints ; and besides, owing to the large 
amount of gas which is finely incorporated with the water, the 
company are enabled to supply families with it in kegs of 
15 gallons, in which the water keeps as well as in bottles, 
and at one-fourth to one-sixth the cost. This method seeins 
to give entire satisfaction, and is fast coming into general 
use. The price to druggists, in bulk, is 20 cents per gallon ; 
to families, four dollars per half barrel ; to the trade, in cases, 
at 21 dollars per gross for pints, and 30 dollars per gross for 
quarts. The large and pleasant office in the bottling-house is 
adorned with flowers, shrubs and rare exotics of great beauty. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. lO^ 

Visitors will find here ample accommodations for rest and re- 
creation,[as the office is open to all. 

The Star water is mildlj cathartic ; has a pleasant, slightly 
acid taste, gentle and healthy in its action, and jet powerful 
in its effects. It is far more desirable for general use as a ca- 
thartic, than the preparations of the apothecary. The Rev. Dr. 
Cuyler, in one of his peculiarly charming letters, gives thw 
Star water preference over all others as an active and efficient 
cathartic. While the immediate effects of the Star Spring are 
cathartic, its remote effects are alterative ; and these after all 
should be considered the most important, as the water thus 
reaches and changes the morbid condition of the whole sys- 
tem. In this part of the village, and near the Star, is the 
famous High Rock Spring above mentioned. 

In the same vicinity and under the same proprietorship, is 
the Saratoga "A" Spring. In 1S65, Messrs. Western & Co- 
purchased the property, and sunk a shaft 12 feet square, to 
the depth of 16 feet. The surface above the rock consists of 
bluish marl, similar to that found all along this mineral val- 
ley. A tube, in the usual form, was placed over the spring 
and clay was used as packing around it. In the spring of 
the next year, the fountain was more perfectly secured by a 
new tubing; and the water was bottled, and shipped all over 
the country. Near by is the Red Spring, long known and 
valuable in cutaneous diseases, scrofula, dyspepsia, and the 
Seltzer Springs, which produces a pleasant beverage, much 
like the imported seltzer water, and used extensively for mix- 
ing with still wines, etc. Returning towards the centre of 
the village, we come to 

The Pavilion Spring. 

This has for more than thirty years been favorably known. 
It is central in position, and, with the neat park around it, i& 
a pleasant place of resort. Church street bounds the park on 
the north. Spring avenue extends northward, and the elegant 
structure which surmounts the fountain is but a few steps 



to8 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, 



from the street on either side. The United States Spring iS 
under the same colonnade, and the water is pleasantly cathar- 
tic. Passing the Pavilion and turning down Putnam street, 
we come to the spring of the same name, which is chiefly 
used for bathing purposes, the water being a strong chaly- 
beate, or iron tonic. The Hathorn Spring comes next, on 
Spring street, in rear of the Congress Hall. It was tubed in 
1869, and is the most active cathartic to be found at Saratoga. 
The Hon. H. H. Hathorn is proprietor, and the water is bot- 
tled, as well as extensively drank on the spot. The Hamilton 
Spring, on the opposite side of Spring street, is principally 
diuretic in action. Passing Congress Park, we come on the 
other side of Broadway, to the beautifully shaded grounds of 




the Clarendon Hotel, in which, under a pavilion, is the Wash- 
ington Spring, often called Champagne Spring, from its pecu- 
liar effervescence. Jt isl tonic and diuretic in its_^action, and 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I09 

Strongly impregnated with iron. It was tubed in 1806. The 
Leland Spring is in the same grounds. Having thus briefly 
noted the Springs near the centre of the village, we will next 
take a trip to some of the outlying fountains. Of these, the 
most celebrated is the Excelsior Spring, about a mile east of 
Broadway, and a little north of the Empire Spring, in a most 
romantic and beautiful dell, formerly known as "The Valley 
of the Ten Springs," but which has been christened, "Excel- 
sior Park." In the same vicinity are the Union (formerly the 
Jackson), a mild cathartic, the Minnehaha, the White Sul- 
phur (used for bathing), and the Eureka Springs. 

The Geyser Spring. 

This, with the neighboring Triton and Champion springs, 
are the spouting springs of Saratoga, and are about a mile 
and a half south of the village on the Ballston road. All are 
artificial, having been successively bored in 1870, 1872 and 
1S71 respectively. The Geyser Spring is in a building which 
for some years was used as a bolt factory, and the proprietors 
of which sunk a shaft in hopes of finding water. The bor- 
ing is 140 feet deep, 5 J inches in diameter; sixty feet of the 
distance bored was through limestone. A tube was fitted to 
the boring and connected with a pipe so that a constant 
stream is playing to the height of fifteen or twenty feet. 
This perpetual fountain is much visited as a curiosity. The 
water is singularly cold, being only 14*^ Fahrenheit above the 
freezing point. In mineral ingx'edients this spring is the rich- 
est of the Saratoga waters that have yet been analyzed. As 
a medicinal agency its effects are marvelous. Testiinonials 
from all quarters are received bearing witness to its wonder- 
ful cures of diseases, especially in cutaneous diseases or any 
of the various phases of scrofula. It is used with telling 
effect in kidney disease, liver complaint, dyspepsia, bilious- 
ness, rheumatism, acidity of stomach, constipation and 
piles. It is a delightful beverage, and when taken as a 



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TOURISTS' HANDBOOiC. Ill 

cathartic leaves none of those unpleasant effects observable 
in the use of many other of the Saratoga waters. Adams & 
Jones are proprietors. 

Having thus familiarized ourselves with the principal 
springs, we will, before noting other objects of interest, 
examine the appended analysis on opposite page. 

Bottling the "Waters. 

The process of bottling is similar at all the springs, and 
as the Congress bottling-house is the most famous, a descrip- 
tion of it will suflfice for the whole, as given by Mr. C. C. 
Dawson of New York : — 

" Probably not one-fifth part of the waters of these 
springs, which are used medicinally, are drank in Sara- 
toga. Multitudes, it is true, flock here during the summer 
months; but their stay is usually limited to a few brief 
weeks — a time, in many cases, too short for these mild nat- 
ural remedies to accomplish their perfect work. Thousands 
of visitors, therefore, find it necessary to continue the use of 
the waters after leaving the springs ; and great numbers of 
other sufferers from the various ills which flesh is heir to, 
who are not able to visit Saratoga, still find the waters a 
source of comfort and health. Thus, while the benefit of 
these springs is enjoyed at Saratoga only by a comparatively 
limited number of persons, and principally during a brief 
season, their blessings are carried, by means of the bottled 
waters, all over the world, and are dispensed to multiplied 
thousands without regard to season or clime. A large and 
important branch of commerce has thus sprung into exist- 
ence, involving a liberal expenditure of capital, and furnish- 
ing employment, directly or indirectly, to a great number of 
persons. The bottling and packing is carried on throughout 
the year; and, except during the height of the visiting sea- 
son, when so much is consumed at the springs as materially 
to decrease the supply for bottling, the work is prosecuted 



11^ 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



night and day. The arrangements for this purpose are the 
most complete of anything of the kind in the country; and 
all the various operations are carried on with care, skill and 
perfection unsurpassed. In order to increase their facilities, 




the Congress Spring Company have erected a glass factory 
near the village, vv^here they not only make all the bottles 
required in their own immense business, but fill large orders 



TOURISTS' H AMD BOOK:. II3 

for all kinds of bottles for other purposes. Some eighteen 
or twenty neat cottages in the same part of the village have 
been erected bj the company for the use of their factory 
operatives. 

" Each bottle, before being filled, is thoroughly washed 
and rinsed with both warm and cold water, a stream of each 
of which is constantly pouring into the tanks before the 
washers. To detach any impurities that cannot be removed 
by other means, a small brass chain is dropped into each 
bottle and thoroughly shaken about. The substitution of 
this simple and effective method of cleansing for the use of 
shot or pebble is an improvement which might well be 
adopted by every housewife. 

" None but the finest corks are used; the brands used for 
branding them are set into a small table, their lettered faces 
being nearly level with its surface. They are kept hot by a 
jet of gas turned on them from below; and the corks receive 
their brand by being rolled over the heated types — an expert 
boy performing the simple operation with great rapidity. 

"The water is pumped from the spring through pure 
block-tin pipes into a receiver holding from five to six gal- 
lons, from which it is drawn into the bottles ; the pipes, 
pump and receiver being so constructed as to prevent any 
escape of the natural gases. The corks, after being soaked 
in warm water until they become so soft as to be easily com- 
pressed, are driven into the bottle hy machinery, the process 
reducing their size before entering the bottles about one- 
third. It requires a strong bottle to stand the pressure of 
their expansion after being driven in; and even strong men 
sometimes find it difficult to pull them out. A single work- 
man will fill and cork from fifteen to twenty dozen bottles 
per hour. 

"After being filled and corked, the bottles are laid upon 
their sides in large bins holding from 150 to 200 dozen each, 
where they are allowed to remain four or five days, or 
longer, to test the strength of the bottles by the expansion 



114 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

of the gas, and also to detect any corks that may be leaky 
or otherwise imperfect. The breakage, while in this situa- 
tion is about five per cent of the whole number filled, and 
sometimes more. The bottles frequently burst with a sharp 
report, like the firing of a pistol or the cracking of cham- 
pagne bottles. Every bottle that breaks, either while in the 
testing-bins or in any of the various processes of washing, 
filling or packing, is registered in the office of the company 
by means of wires going from different parts of the estab- 
lishment, and centring there in an apparatus arranged for 
the purpose All leaky corks are drawn, and the bottles 
refilled with water direct from the spring While all these 
precautions add. largely to the expense of putting up the 
waters, they render a leaky, and consequently a bad bottle 
of Saratoga water almost impossible; and they also render 
the breakage of bottles in subsequent handling a matter of 
rare occurrence. 

" When the bottles and corks have been thus thoroughly 
tested, the corks are securely wired, this operation being 
performed with great rapidity by employees long trained to 
the work. 

"The next process is the packing in cases, which is also 
done with great care and remarkable dexterity. The neck of 
each bottle is firmly wound with clean straw ; and the bottles 
are placed on their sides in tiers of equal number, a parting 
strip of straw being laid between each bottle and its neighbor 
on either side. A layer of straw is also placed between the 
tiers of bottles, as well as the top and bottom of the box. 
When the box is filled, the packer walks over the bottles for 
the double purpose of settling them properly in their places, 
and as a further test of their strength, before the lid is put in 
its place and nailed down." 

The Hotels of Saratoga. 

Saratoga has long been famed for its grand hotels, wherein, 
during the season, the wealth and fashion of the whole coun- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. II5 

try assemble, and where all the luxuries of a city home or the 
palace of a foreign nobleman can be found, within a minute's 
walk of the healing springs. Of all the great hostelries 
which have existed at the springs, the old United States has 
been one of the most noted, but that was burned several years 
ago. On its site, at a cost of over $1,000,000, has been erect- 
ed and in 1874 opened to the public, the most stupendous, as 
well as the most elegant hotel in the country, if not in the 
world. 

The United States Hotel. 

This marvel of public houses is situated on Broadway and 
Division streets, extending on the latter fully back to the de- 
pot, with which it communicates by a lofty-arched passage for 
the convenience of guests who arrive in rainy weather. To 
say that the building is immense, conveys no idea of its pro- 
portions ; that its internal arrangements are unequalled, will 
not describe them ; that its purk, promenades, ball-room, and 
wide verandas are beautiful, lovely, exquisite and delightful, 
cannot picture them as they deserve. The building covers 
seven acres of ground, and is arranged in the form of an ir- 
regular pentagon, having a frontage of 232 feet on Broadway, 
503 on Division street, and 153 on Railroad place, extending 
back through all its length 54 feet. At the south end of the 
"main front" commences the "Cottage Wing," and extends 
back at right angles to the main building 566 feet. This wing 
is one of the prominent and peculiar features of the building, 
being intended to give families and parties the same quiet and 
seclusion which they could get in a private cottage, with the 
addition ofthe attention and conveniences belonging to a first- 
class hotel. In this wing the rooms are arranged in suites, 
containing from one to seven bedrooms, with parlor, bath- 
room, and water-closet attached to each suite. Here families 
can dine at their own table if they choose, and be in every 
way as much isolated as if in a private villa of their own. In 
the main front, on Broadway, is the grand drawing-room? 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. II7 

86 feet in length bj 50 in breath, furnished in blue, with the 
finest Axminster carpets, carved black walnut and marble 
furniture, superb curtains and chandeliers. The chandeliers 
in this room cost each $1000. 

North of the entrance hall is the ladies' parlor, furnished 
with exquisite taste. Next comes the gentlemen's reading- 
room, on the corner of Broadway and Division streets, con- 
nected with the business offices, in which is the largest 
telegraphic annunciator in the world, sixteen feet square. 
West of this is the grand dining-hall, fifty by two hundred 
and twelve feet, also the private dining-parlors, offices, wine- 
room, etc. The grand ballroom is situated in the second 
story of the Division-street wing, and is without doubt the 
finest room of its kind in the world. Connected with it is a 
quiet and secluded veranda overlooking the lawn. This 
retreat, dimly lighted, and secure from inquiring eyes as it is, 
where the strains of music from the ballroom are faintly 
heard, mingled with the plashing of the fountain beneath, 
and the murmur of the wind in the tree-tops which bend 
above it, is the most delightful spot imaginable for the 
exchange of those sweet nothings, which, far more than the 
music or the intoxication of the dreamy waltz, go to make up 
the fascination of the grand balls to susceptible young men 
and maidens. All the rooms throughout the house are fur- 
nished in the richest and most tasteful style, with running 
water in each. The elevators, two in number, are of the Otis 
Bros', manufacture. One is intended solely for the use of 
arriving and the other for departing guests. The manage- 
ment is in the hands of the Hon. J. M. Marvin, the long-time 
proprietor of the old hotel. There are many other fine hotels 
in Saratoga ; but they will not require a detailed description, 
for they have been long and favorably known to the travelling 
public. Each has soine special point of attraction ; but these 
have been so often enlarged upon, that the tourist feels per- 
fectly acquainted with them. Prominent among them is 



Il8 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

The Grand Union Hotel, 

on Broadway, a short distance south of the United States, 
this season under the control of Messrs. J. H. Breslin, 
& Co. It accommodates twelve hundred guests. Across the 
street, directly opposite the Grand Union, is 

Congress Hall. 

This structure is four hundred and sixteen feet in length, 
and is supplied with every thing that can give pleasure, and 
add to the comfort of guests. At each extremity there are 
two large wings that extend back three hundred feet, and 
greatly enlarge the accommodations. Like the Gi*and Union, 
it occupies an entire square, covering all the space between 
Spring and Congress streets. Congress Hall occupies the 
site of a former house of the same name, which was burned 
in May, 1866. The proprietors are Hathorn & Southgate. 

On Broadway, south of the Grand Union stood the Grand 
Central Hotel, which was leased by Mr. John B. Cozzens, 
but which was destroyed by fire in November, 1874. 

On Broadway, South of the Grand Union, is the 

Columbia Hotel, 

which is owned and kept by D. A.' Dodge, of Brooklyn New 
York. Its front forms one of the chain of hotels reaching 
from the west end of the United States to the Clarendon, and 
looks off on Congress Spring Park, one of the prettiest 
plateaus of Saratoga. This house is specially kept as a family 
hotel, homelike in apartments and moderate in charges, and 
will be found a pleasant stopping place. 

Still south of the Grand Central, we come to another of the 
older Saratoga hotels, the Clarendon Hotel, Mr. Charles E. 
Leland, proprietor. This house is one of the most aristocratic 
at the Springs, and is too well known to require other than 
this passing mention. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. II9 

The Holden House 

is on Broadway, two doors north of the United States, and is 
owned and managed by Mr. C. H. Holden, who has just refur- 
nished, recarpeted, repapered and repainted it throughout, 
and made it one of the handsomest as well as most comfort- 
able of the smaller hotels of Saratoga. Mr. Holden has 
made many friends by his long connection with railroad and 
steamboat business, and the travelling public will naturally 
gravitate to his hotel. Everything is as complete in its way 
here, as at the large hotels, the bill of fare is good, the rooms 
neat and well furnished, and the prices are low. Mr. Holden 
is a gentleman whom his guests like, and carriages and 
porters meet every train on arrival in Saratoga. 

The "Waverley House. 

Another of the small houses which deserves well of the 
public is the Waverley, on Broadway, a short distance north 
of the Town Hall. Major W. J. Riggs, its proprietor, is a 
genial, whole-souled man, and makes himself a favorite with his 
guests. This house accommodates 150 guests, without over- 
crowding, and is as well arranged as any of the large hotels in 
the place. The parlors and dining-rooms are large and airy, 
and furnished in excellent taste. The sleeping-rooms and 
private parlors are arranged in suites for the convenience of 
families and parties, or singly; and all communicate with the 
balconies, which extend around the house, and afford some of 
the loveliest views of the surrounding country to be obtained 
in this place. Among the chief attractions which this excel- 
lent house has for those who prefer health, quiet, and comfort 
to heat, dust, noise, and discomfort, are its large, airy, and 
well-arranged rooms. A further advantage is its moderate 
price. 

There are a number of public institutions of various kinds 
in Saratoga, which are patronized by visitors, not only during 
the summer season, but also, to a greater or less extent, 
during the whole of the year. One of them is 



I20 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 
Strong's Bemedial Institute, 



on Circular street, a short distance from Broadway and all the 
principal hotels and springs. Drs. S. S. and S. E. Strong, 
regular physicians, graduates of the University of New York, 




are the proprietors. The institute was established several 
years ago, and has enjoyed a superior reputation for its treat- 
ment of invalids, as well as for its hotel and boarding accom- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 121 

modations. During the spring of 1871 the building was 
greatly enlarged, and now affords accommodations for 200 
guests. Its parlors, dining-halls, and bath-rooms are fitted 
up in the most modern and elegant style ; and the general 
appointments are of the first order. Being somewhat removed 
from the bustle and confusion of the larger hotels, it affords 
a delightful retreat for persons of impaired health ; while re- 
fined and cultivated people will find its society more congenial 
than that of the more public houses. Among its annual pa- 
trons are the Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D. ; Ex-Gov. Wells 
of Virginia ; Mr. Robert Carter, of the firm of Carter Brothers, 
publishers, of New York; and many others of like position 
in society. The Institute is supplied with new and the most 
improved appliances now known to medical science, among 
which are the Electrothermal, Sulphur, Air, Turkish, and 
Russian Baths ; Swedish movement cure ; the Equalizer or 
Vacuum Treatment; Oxygen Inhalations ; Gymnastics; and 
other varieties of hydropathy and medicine. 

Temple Grove Seminary is beautifully situated in a grove, 
on what was formerly called Temple Hill ; and its grounds 
occupy the whole square on Spring street, between Circular 
and Regent streets. 

Social Life at the Springs. 

But the natural advantages alone of Saratoga would have 
never given it the pre-eminence above all other watering- 
places which it enjoys. The results of human art and the 
enjoyments of social and fashionable life are the chief claims 
upon the favor of many visitors. Not even the invalids 
come here to drink the waters alone ; they expect to meet 
and enjoy the society of other invalids, and the gayeties of 
the season. Dancing and drinking are reckoned by some as 
the chief employments of guests at Saratoga, and so far as 
the morning draught of two or half a dozen glasses of 
spring water, and the nightly hop at one of the — 
6 



122 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

" great hotels ablaze with light, 

Where youth and beauty, wealth and rank, 
Hold revel through the night," 



are concerned, the truth justifies the declaration. But there 
are other and even more entrancing social pleasures at the 
Springs, of which we will enumerate a few. First, there is 
the Lake Drive. Saratoga Lake, a beautiful sheet of water 
nine miles long and five miles wide, is four miles distant from 
the village by the extension of Union Avenue. The drive is 
a continuation of East Congress Street, and has a row of 
trees each side and one in the middle. A most gay and bril- 
liant scene is presented on a bright August morning or after- 
noon, as the long procession of carriages, in all the richest 
styles, pass down on one side of the drive and back on the 
other. On* a high bluff, near the outlet of the Lake, is 
Moon's Lake House, kept for the accommodation of the 
many visitors who every fine day ride down from the Springs. 
A mile beyond the Lake House is Chapman's Hiil, which 
rises i8o feet above the surface of the lake; and three miles 
farther on is Wagner's Hill, 240 feet high. N. P. Willis 
relates, among his legends, the following tradition of Sara- 
toga Lake: "There is," he says, "an Indian superstition 
attached to this lake, which probably has its source in its 
remarkable loneliness and tranquility. The Mohawks be- 
lieved that its stillness was sacred to the Great Spirit, and 
that, if a human voice uttered a sound upon its waters, the 
canoe of the offender would instantly sink. A story is told 
of an Englishwoman, in the early days of the first settlers, 
who had occasion to cross this lake with a party of Indians, 
who, before embarking, warned her mo&t impressively of the 
spell. It was a silent, breathless day, and the canoe shot 
over the smooth surface of the lake like an arrow. About a 
mile from the shore, near the centre of the lake, the woman 
willing to convince the savages of the weakness of their 
superstition, uttered a loud cry. The countenances of the In- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 23 

dians fell instantly to the deepest gloom. After a moment's 
pause, however, thej redoubled their exertions, and in frowns 
ing silence drove the light bark like an arrow over the waters 
They reached the shore in safety and drew up the canoe, 
and the woman rallied the chief on his credulity. 'The 
Great Spirit is merciful,' answered the scornful Mohawk; 
' he knows that a white woman cannot hold her tongue.'" 
Whatever basis there may be for this legend, certain it is that 
the Great Spirit has removed the prohibition, if any existed, 
upon talking and laughter upon the lake, as witness any 
pleasant evening, when parties who have ridden out to 
Moon's are enjoying the delight of a moonlight sail or row." 
The collegiate regattas of 1874 and 1875 on this lake have 
attracted hosts of visitors hither, and have drawn general 
attention to the merits of this beautiful sheet of water as a 
race course for shells. 

Then, in the season, there are the races. The Saratoga 
race course is only a mile from Broadway, near Union Ave- 
nue, and it is always kept in fine condition. The attendance 
at the races embraces a large share of the wealth and style of 
the country, and the grand stand is filled not only with inter- 
ested turfmen, owners of fleet horses and gentlemen of 
means, but with hundreds of stylish and elegantly dressed 
ladies, who appear to be as much excited over the contests as 
their male neighbors, and who freely wager such trifles as a 
dozen gloves or a bottle of wine on their favorites. Then 
there are the weekly balls at the principal hotels. At these, 
of course, dancing is subordinated to dress. All the ladies 
from each of the other hotels will, of course, make it a point 
to stroll over in the course of the evening and see what 
everybody " has on," and it is of course necessary to dress so 
that their feelings will be inexpressible. Hence the size and 
number of the Saratoga trunks which every lady finds a 
necessity of her outfit for the Springs. Hence, also, the 
reports in the Saratoga and the metropolitan papers of the 



124 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

dresses of the belles. Many of these glowing descriptions are 
inserted bj special request. When we read that " Miss 
Clementina Van Tassel was much admired in a jufon of 
mauve matelasse^ with feignoir of satin tarletane cut bias 
and ruffled to the waist with pink tulle; corsage bouffant and 
panier decollete with point lace en traine, a la maitre de 
Jiotel; hair a la cus^idore dressed with callas and nastur- 
tiums, (the description may not be just right in some of its 
details, but if so any of our lady readers will correct us) we 
take it for granted that she or her escort has given the details 
to the society reporter, who is always glad to spice his de- 
scription of the ball with these personal " puffs." The scene 
in the grand ball-room of the United States, Grand Union, 
or Congress Hall, on one of the ball nights fully justifies this 
glowing verse of Miles O'Reilley's : — 

A fairy scene of colored light, 

Of gorgeous dress and magic changes, 
Where still the gazer's dazzled sight 

From beauty to new beauty ranges. 
Now rings the music clear and high. 

Now seems to die ; now swells in clangors ; 
Voluptuous visions fill the eye 

And thrill the pulse with tropic languors. 

Flirtation and its Concomitants. 

And last, but most fascinating of all, there is — flirtation. 
Without this chiefest of watering place charms, social life 
even at Saratoga would lose its attraction. The promenade 
on the balcony between dances ; the whispered word or the 
sly glance over the morning glass at the spring; the moon- 
light drive to the Lake, the "holding hands" on the Clar- 
endon piazza or on the benches in the Park — all these 
delights would be blotted out and Saratoga would become to 
the young and impressible, a dreary waste, a howling wilder- 
ness — that is, if a wilderness ever howls. J. Cheever Good- 
win, the talented young poet and dramatist of Boston, has 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



125 



illustrated in graceful verse the romance of a Saratoga flirta- 
tion, as follows : — 

It was up at Saratoga that I met her, 

Where I went to drink the waters for mj health ; 

And her stylish way (I never shall forget her) 
Seemed to me a sure concomitant of wealth. 

In her figure and her face she was a Venus ; 

Like the evanescent lightning shone her eyes : 
In the dining-room one table was between us ; 

But love such paltry distances defies. 

I smiled my adoration o'er my coffee, 

Drank deep of tender passion with my tea : 

As the waiter took my trout untasted off, he 
Little thought it was so typical of me. 

I was caught as fast as ever were the fishes ; 

And the hook went deeper in with every meal : 
But my hopes were all as empty as the dishes ; 

And my sorrow cut as deep as knife of steel. 

'Twas in vain I promenaded the piazza : 
She was never in the parlor night or day; 

And I thought, " She is an invalid, and has a- 
N injunction in her room to always stay. 

" For I never find her drinking at the Hathorn ; 

To the hops or balls I never see her go ; 
She is never betting Belmont or McGrath on, 

At the races where so many beauties show." 

My suspicions were, alas ! substantiated ; 

For excepting at our meals we never met : 
You 'd have surely thought I was a man she hated, 

Excepting for the smiles I used to get. 

" Does she ever think of me? " I sadly wonder : 
" When she 's seated at her breakfast or her tea, 

Through the many miles that keep us now asunder, 
Does her memory ever send a thought to me?" 

And I sadly fear I 'm utterly forgotten, 

That my presence would not cause her heart to stir, 

That she 'd give to see me not a single button, 
Though I 'd gladly give a dozen to see her. 



126 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

Schroon Lake and Neighboring Kesorts. 

Taking Saratoga as our point of departure, there are several 
excursions which we can make with ease, and bj which we 
can visit many scenes of interest in a very few days and by 
comparatively very few miles of travel. The Adirondack 
Railroad, which is pushing its way northward from Saratoga 
into the heart of the great wilderness only trodden by the 
wild deer and the Indian until within a few years, affords easy 
communication with a number of noted resorts, embracing 
views of Nature in all her pristine beauty and savage grandeur, 
within a few hours' ride of the grand hotels of the Springs. 
A trip of fifty miles in the cars brings us to Riverside station, 
but a few miles short of the present terminus of the railroad 
(North Creek), whence we take a stage for a six mile ride to 
the foot of Schroon Lake, a favorite and very beautiful resort. 
Schroon Lake is unique as a watering-place, being in a semi- 
wilderness, — the outskirts of the Adirondack region, — and 
surrounded by wild and rugged hills, yet as has been shown, 
within a few miles of the railroad, which is in effect the same 
as if it were within twenty miles of Saratoga by stage. Ac- 
cordingly, we shall be very apt to find the cars well filled and 
outside seats on the stages in lively demand, if we go to 
Schroon in the Summer season. The Lake is nine miles long, 
and averages about two miles wide, except at the Narrows, 
which contract to half a mile or less in width, about midway 
its length. At the upper end is the village of Schroon Lake ; 
at the lower end, where the stage deposits us, is Pottersville. 
The outlet is at the latter point, and the water finds its way 
through Schroon river to the Hudson, near Warrensburgh, 
20 miles south. Schroon Lake is also reached by staging from 
Lake George to Thurman, nine miles thence by rail, 14 miles 
to Riverside. At Pottersville, the hotel kept by L. R. Locke, 
affords us a good dinner or accommodations for a longer stay 
if we choose, teams for a trip into the wilderness or convey- 
ance to the Landing at the foot of the Lake, where the little 
steamer EflEingham is in waiting to convey us to Schroon, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I27 

through the entire length of the beautiful sheet of water. A 
little to the north of the village a swift mountain stream, on 
its waj to the Lake, has worn a channel through the white 
marble, which forms a natural arch above it, 40 feet high and 
247 feet long. The lake, which is reallj a widening of the 
Schroon River, or northeast branch of the Hudson, is at a 
level of 1000 feet above tide water, and has but a single island, 
Isola Bella, near the northern extremity. There have been 
various attempts to assign an In.dian paternity to the name 
Schroon, but it is far more likely that the tradition which as- 
signs its name to the early French occupants of Crown Point, 
who gave it the title of " Scaron," after Madame deMaintenon 
(Scaron), the second wife of Louis XIV. From the landing, 
the little steamer shoots across the lake northeasterly, to a 
considerable bay on the east shore at the head of which Mill 
Brook empties into the Lake. Near its mouth, a new hotel, 
the Wells House, is attracting a good share of patronage. 
Thence in a long, sweeping curve, we plow through the Nar- 
rows and lay a straight course for the little cluster of houses 
interspersed with hotels which form the village of Schroon, 
passing on the right Isola Bella, with its villa and gardens. 
Here is the Leland House, overlooking half the lake from its 
elevated site on a projection from the west shore ; near by the 
Wickham House, new and commodious, and the Taylor House 
and Ondawa House to the left as the boat stands in. At any of 
these hotels, comfortable rooms, the best of mountain fare, 
boats and guides can be had at reasonable rates, and the 
visitor can highly enjoy a day's or a month's stay, varied by 
excursions down the Lake or into the woods ; the ascent of 
Mount Pharaoh and Mount Severn, and the fishing in Pharaoh 
Lake at the foot of the mountain of the same name, whence 
trout are taken in great numbers. Paradox Lake, nine miles 
north, is much visited. It is a lovely and secluded pond, with 
romantic scenery and good fishing for its recommendations 
It is one of the feeders of Schroon river, and it derives its 
name from the fact that it is so little above the level of the 



128 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

stream, that in the Spring freshets the water of the river runs 
into it, instead of out. Long Pond, Pyramid Pond and other 
small and nameless little tarns lie in its immediate vicinity, 
Pratt's hotel, near the head of Paradox, being the head-quar- 
ters of visitors to the region. 

Returning to Pottersville by steamer, and thence by stage 
lo Riverside, we may find it worth while to stop at Charles- 
town, six miles from Pottersville, and thence make discur- 
sions to Brant Lake, nestled among the Kayaderosseras peaks, 
in the town of Horicon, and the other points in the vicinity. 
Returning by rail from Riverside to Hadley, 28 miles, many 
tourists alight for a visit to the village and Lake of Luzerne 
on the opposite, or east bank of the Hudson. The lake is a 
quiet and picturesque little body of water, among the hills, 
700 feet above sea level, with a single island. In the village 
are the Wayside Hotel, Rockwell's and the Wilcox House, all 
of good repute, and here boats can be procured for the navi- 
gation of the lake, and teams for the many fine drives in the 
vicinity. The following lines by Percival find an echo in the 
feeling of visitors to this lovely little mountain mirror : 

The waves along thy pebbly shore. 

As blows the north wind, heave their foam. 

And curl around the dashing oar, 
As late the boatman hies him home. 

How sweet at set of sun, to view 

Thy golden inirror, spreading wide ; 

And see the mist of mantling blue 

Float round the distant mountain side. 

At midnight hour, as shines the moon, 

A sheet of silver spreads below; 
And swift she cuts, at highest noon. 

Light clouds like wreaths of purest snow. 

On thy fair bosom, silver lake, 

O, I could ever sweep the oar; 
When early birds at morning wake. 

And evening tells us toils are o'er. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. j2g 

The village of Hadlej stands at the junction of the Sacon- 
daga river with the Hudson. The Indians called it Tiosa- 
wonda, or the "Meeting of the Waters." Near bj are Jes- 
sup's Little Falls, or Luzerne Rapids, where the Hudson 
dashes between loftj banks over a declivity of i8 feet. Jes- 
sup's Great Fall, five miles below, is 70 feet high, and is 
much visited. From Hadlej we cross the Sacondaga river on 
a bridge 450 feet long and 96 feet above the bed of the river. 

The Route to Lake George. 

But by far the greater proportion of visitors to Saratoga 
make their principal excursion thence to Lake George. This 
far-famed lake, which has no rival in this country so far for 
gradeur and beauty of scenery, facility of access and superb 
accommodations, is usually visited by thousands of tourists 
while many wealthy families from New York and other cities 
own islands or seats on the shores where they spend a portion 
of each summer. Many of the villas are of great elegance 
and the air of the entire locality and its visitors is that of 
refinement and luxury. The lake is about thirty-one miles at 
its nearest point, Caldwell, from Saratoga, and is reached by 
taking the cars of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad to 
Fort Edward, seventeen miles northeast, and by the Glen's 
Falls Branch, five miles northwest, to Glen's Falls, on the 
Hudson river, two hundred miles from its mouth. This 
village, which has a population of about 8,000, is one the of 
most thriving and certainly one of the handsomest of inland 
towns. The Rockwell House, fronting on the fine public 
square — with its Soldiers' Monument surrounded by an eao-le 
and flanked by military statues ; its lofty and handsome foun 
tain, which, perpetually playing, scatters its misty spray over 
the broad street and delightfully cools the air; and with its 
tree-shaded and neatly kept streets diverging in various direcr 
tions — is a fine, commodious house, much frequented. The 
industries of Glen's Falls comprise its quarries of black mar- 
ble and limestone ; its paper and saw mills and its trade with 
6* 



130 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

the country around. Its chief feature of interest is the great 
fall of the Hudson from which its name is derived. The sub- 
stratum of this region is black limestone, which is crystallized 
in places, and so regularly stratified that a perpendicular 
section looks like hewn stones in the wall of a building. 
The action of the water has worn some of these strata away, 
a few at the top, and more farther down the falls ; so that a 
kind of irregular series of steps has been formed, over which 
the waters of the river go thundering down a descent of 
over fifty feet. Seen in the sunlight, rainbows appear 
in the clouds of spray that are tossed into the air just below. 
The river has worn its way deep into the black limestone, 
which rises in some places to the height of seventy feet 
above the surface of the river. A bridge six hundred feet 
long, which rests on a marble island in the centre, crosses the 
Hudson at this point, and from it one of the best views of the 
falls is obtained. By a private stairway that goes down near 
the bridge, one may reach two objects of interest, Indian 
Cave and Big Snake. The cave runs through a small island, 
from one channel to another. This is said to be the place of 
concealment of Cora and Alice, Mayor Hayward and the 
singing-master, characters familiar to the readers of Cooper's 
"Last of the Mohicans." Here David blew his pitch-pipe and 
sang " The Isle of Wight " to the accompaniment of the roar- 
ing waters, and here Uncas watched over the slumbers of the 
fair sisters. It is a capital place to grow romantic, and after 
a scramble through the rocky cavern, one can imagine a 
Mingo hidden in every bush on the shore, and can hear the 
scalp-song in every note of the rushing stream. " Big Snake " 
is the name applied to the likeness of a serpent in a vein of 
stone projecting from the smooth surface of a softer ledge. In 
the rocks near the falls many trilobites and others of our fossil 
ancestors (according to Darwin) are entombed, but no one 
seems to weep over the tomb of his remote progenitor. The 
Darwinian theory is all very nice — for other people — but 
somehow, no one wants to take it home to himself. Caldwell, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I3I 

at the head of Lake George, is nine miles from Glen's Falls, 
which is reached bj a romantic and view-affording stage ride 
bj the plank road. As we rattle out of Glen's Falls in fine 
style, occupying, if the day be fair and we lucky, seats " on 
top " of the Concord coach, drawn by its four spanking 
roadsters, through the toll-gate, past the fair grounds and 
thea over hill and dale in a nearly direct northeasterly course 
— by ponds starred with fragrant pond lilies, through dense 
woods whose arching branches unite over our heads and 
sometimes almost scrape us off the coach as we dash beneath 
them — to the " Half Way House," where George Brown, the 
jovial host, is always ready to get up a milk punch or a lemon- 
ade for each thirsty soul. As we traverse the region of the 
ponds we are waylaid by Bedouins, that is, we suppose they 
are Bedouins, young Arabs laden with the white lilies tied up 
in odorous bunches, which they shy into the coach windows, 
and with which they bombard the roof passengers, meantime 
trotting alongside the team in expectation of "back-shish" 
which they generally get in the form of a hail-storm of cop- 
pers. Shortly after passing the Half Way House we see the 
Williams Monument, a marble obelisk eight feet high, stand- 
ing on a huge boulder upon a side hill to the left of the road. 
The inscription reads : — 

ERECTED TO THE 
MEMORY OF 

COLONEL EPHRAIM WILLIAMS, 

A Native of Newton, Mass., 
who after 

GALLANTLY DEFENDING 

the frontiers of His Native State, 

SERVED UNDER GEN, JOHNSON 

against the 

FRENCH AND INDIANS, 

and Nobly Fell Near this Spot 

in the Bloody Conflict of 

September 8, 1755, 

in the 42d year 

of His Aije. 



132 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, 



The monument tells its own story, and it is only necessary 
to add that Colonel Williams was the founder of the college 
which bears his name at Williamstown, Mass., and that the 
monument was erected by the students in 1854, to perpetuate 
the memory of a good man and a brave soldier. All this secf ion 
of country has been the theatre of conflict from the first white 
occupation down to the close of the Revolution, and soon we 
come in sight of a lovely little pond, now shaded by bending 
trees, and dotted with snowy lilies, which bears the strangely 
inappropriate name, as it now seems, of Bloody Pond. Its 
name is derived from one of those sanguinary surprises of 
the " old French war," when a party of the French, cooking 
heir supper around this little lakelet, were ambuscaded by the 
English and slaughtered in such numbers that their blood is 
said to have tinged the water red. Soon after, we gain our 
first views of the " Horicon Water," gleaming through the 
trees like a gem of lapis lazuli, set in the emerald of the foli- 
age. From this point the road winds around the hillside and 
down to the lake, and we see the white houses of Caldwell 
almost at our feet, and " catch the gleam of a passing sa^l " 
or the puff of fleecy smoke from one of the little steamers 
that ply on the lake. In a few moments we turn up a grav- 
elled driveway and alight upon the long piazza of the Fort 
William Henry Hotel. Lake George is before us, and the 
mountains behind and about us. 




CHAPTER V. 



Lake George andfits^Beauties. 




AKE GEORGE, loveliest of inland 
waters,! no j,"wonder [the [red man named 
thee Horicon, " Silver Water," 
^ or that the pious French mis- 
^^ sionaries, the first white discov- 
' erers, called thee Lac 

du St. Sacrament, so 
pure, so clear, so bril- 
5 Hant are thj waters ! 
lJ Of all the liquid jewels 
^^ shining on the earth's 
brow, thou art the 
fairest and the bright- 
est! Romance, tradi- 
tion, and history, com- 
bine to invest thee with a poetic charm ! Hither for yeares th 
tide of summer travel has tended, and here the pilgrim, seeking 
what is fairest and sweetest in Nature, is content to abide, sure 
that nothing can surpass the beauties around him. Lake 



134 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

George lies in a valley whose lower outlet is far at the north, 
whose walls are mountains, and whose charms have been the 
inspiration of poets and painters for a century. This lovely 
body of water lies about 300 feet above the sea level, and 
stretches thirty-five miles in length, from north to south, with 
a varying width of from one to four miles. It is supplied by 
springs and mountain brooks, and hence its waters are clear 
as crystal and cold as the snows of Lebanon. Its shores are 
dotted with the villas of wealthy summer residents, and its 
surface studded with verdant islets, most of which are crowned 
with tasteful and romantic cottages. Caldwell, at its head, or 
southern extremity, is a little hamlet whose chief industry is 
the reception and accommodation of summer visitors, and 
which is largely composed of hotels, the Fort William Henry, 
the Lake House, the Harris and the Central, while just across 
the Lake, embowered in trees, stands Crosbyside, on a beau- 
tiful slope — a quiet and unexceptionable retreat. The Fort 
William Henry Hotel, from whose broad piazzas and tasteful 
grounds a splendid view of the watery expanse is gained, 
is one of the most famous, most elegant and most 
fashionable of watering place resorts. It is from four to six 
stories high, crowned with a Mansard roof and two lofty Re- 
naissance domes, and fronts 334 feet on the lake side. A 
piazza twenty-five feet wide, and shaded by a roof supported 
on columns thirty feet high, extends along the entire front, 
and here of a summer's day or evening, a bewildering array 
of dainty feminine toilettes and astonishing masculine finery 
is spread out to view. Of course, the animated contents of 
the garments aforesaid are but a secondary consideration, but 
if one cares to examine closely, he will find that they comprise 
in no small proportion the elite of metropolitan society. In 
the evening the blaze of light from the halls, parlors and the 
central office, is enough to dazzle one ; but the gas jets are 
eclipsed in splendor by the flashing radiance of the diamonds 
worn by the lady guests. Strains of delicious music float out 
through the open windows, and within, the whirl of lithe 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I35 

forms and the shimmering of silks and fleecy fabrics in the 
dreamy waltz makes up a scene of gayety which is hardly 
matched even at Saratoga. In the grand dining hall, bril- 
liant with table ware, glass and silver, the dusky cohorts 
wheel and deploy in never ceasing action, obedient to the 
wish of the guest and the rules of that mighty potentate, the 
head waiter, seemingly engaged in a never-ending endeavor 
to supply a never- satisfied demand for ''Lake George trout, 
with fried potatoes and coffee." Above, are rooms for 900 
guests, and rarely, during the season, are the accommodations 
sufficient for the crowd of visitors. From the front of the 
house, elegant and tastefully ornamented grounds slope to 
the water, with a plashing fountain in the centre, making 
music in the little basin, on which snowy swans float to and 
fro. Broad gravelled walks radiate in every direction, and the 
dark shrubbery is lit up at night by the radianpe of gas lamps 
conveniently disposed. The ruling spirit of this great cara- 
vanserai is Mr. Roessle, who with his sons have been the 
proprietors since 1868, and who has made his name synony- 
mous with the highest luxury and elegance of which a hotel is 
capable. There are many points of interest in the vicinity; 
visits to the ruins of Forts Williams Henry and George, the 
ride to the Healing Springs, and that up Prospect Mountain 
being the favorite trips ; but the enjoyment best of all is 
found in the sail down the Lake. 

A Trip Down the Xiake. 

From the landing at the water-side, the little steamer Min- 
nehaha steams daily to the foot of the lake and back, and 
many tourists avail themselves of the opportunity to spend a 
delightful day in the round trip. Swinging out from the 
little wharf, the vessel glides out into the lake, with French 
Mountain looming grandly on the right, and Rattlesnake 
Cobble frowning behind us. We pass Tea Island, about a 
mile from our starting point, a small, wooded islet near the 



136 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

west shore, with a rustic cottage, and memories of a ''tea- 
house" kept there years ago for the regalement of visitors. 
Diamond Island, a mile and a half further, lies on our right 
hand, and derived its name from the quantities of quartz crj- 
tals formerly found here. In 1777, Burgojne fortified it as a 
military post, and the same year it was the scene of an en- 
counter with the Americans. A mile further, on the left bank, 
stands the Coolidge House, a quiet, pleasant resort, much 
sought by fishermen, who find in its vicinity some of the finest 
fishing on the lake. Nearly opposite, out in the lake, lie the 
Three Sisters, and still further east Long Island, the largest 
in Lake George, extending about a mile North and South, 
and affording room for a fine farm on its surface. A steam- 
boat dock extends from the east side, and after touching here, 
we round the northern end of the island, and bear westerly to 
Bolton. On our right, the lofty, rugged Buck Mountain 
towers 2000 feet above us, and just south of it is Pilot Moun- 
tain, only less lofty. Before reaching Bolton, we pass Dome 
Island, the loftiest and one of the largest in the lake, oval in 
form, and sufficiently dome-shaped to justify its name. We 
next pass Recluse Island, owned by Rufus Wattles of New 
York, and one of the loveliest gems on the bosom of the lake. 
It is handsomely wooded, and bears a tasteful cottage, with 
outlying pavilions, summer houses, and a graceful bridge 
connects it with the tiny Sloop Island on the ea'-t. Recluse 
Island became famous in 1868 by a newspap^ r hoax, which 
represented it sunk by an earthquake — a statement which 
proved " not sufficiently materialized." 

Bolton, ten miles from Caldwell, is th$ second village in 
size upon Lake George, and post^esses three excellent hotels, 
the Mohican, the Bolton and the Wells Houses, all chiefly 
patronized by season boarders. Its site is deeply embayed, 
and its view down the lake includes the Narrows, formed by 
Tongue Mountain on the left and Shelving Point on the right ; 
and Northwest Bay, a considerable indentation of the west 
shore formed by the projection of Tongue Mountain. Bol- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 137 

ton presents a most romantic appearance from the water, the 
many beautiful cottages, the shaded grounds, and the pretty 
little church of St. Sacrament, built by the exertions of a 
young daughter of Mr. Thieviot, giving it the aspect of one 
of those picturesque French villages which painters delight 
to put on canvass. Tongue Mountain to the north, already 
mentioned, is a beautiful and shapely elevation, whose con- 
tour indicates the derivation of its name. Green Island, near 
the Bolton shore, is about half a mile long, and is a beautiful 
spot, and Crown Island near by is one of the gems of nature. 
From Bolton our course is nearly east, to Fourteen Mile Isl- 
and, at the extreme point of Shelving Rock, which forms the 
right wall of the Narrows. These Narrows are among the 
most lovely of the features of Lake George. Here the shores 
are less than a mile apart, and so far do the lofty banks over- 
lap each other, and so full is the course of islands, that from 
the steamer it looks as if the lake ended here. But we touch 
at the little pier of Fourteen Mile Island, 12 miles from Cald- 
well, and a favorite resort for artists and gentlemen of a pisca- 
torial turn of mind, and swinging out again see clear water 
beyond. The view through the Narrows during the chang- 
ing moods of a summer afternoon, and especially during a 
summer shower, is inexpressibly grand. The lofty peaks on 
either hand clothed in purple mists, the rolling vapors which 
curl around their rugged sides, the drifting clouds which now 
and then eclipse their summits, and above all, the sunshine 
breaking through the rifts and glorifying the scene — all make 
up a picture which would drive an artist frantic with the 
knowledge of his inability to reproduce it on canvass. Laying 
our course nearly due north from Fourteen Mile Island, we 
are soon passing Black Mountain, the highest on the lake, 
being nearly 3000 feet in height. Its sides are clothed in 
dense woods, two-thirds its height, and above, the bare-bleak 
rocks tower into the clouds. It is often ascended with the 
aid of guides, and from its summit in a clear day, views of 
the entire lake and the surrounding country are gained. Next 



138 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

beyond is Sugar Loaf, a spur of Black Mountain and a rude, 
lofty mass of rock. In the lake are the Harbor Islands, the 
scene of a fierce battle in 1757, in which some 300 or 400 Eng- 
lish were worsted by a band of Montcalm's Indian allies. 
Deer's Leap Mountain is on the west bank, and gains its 
name from the fact that a deer, pursued by hunters and 
hounds " took a header" off the beetling precipice, and was 
impaled on a sharp tree top below. On the right shore, in a 
smooth hollow, sloping down to the beautiful Bosom Bay, 
nestles the little hamlet of Dresden, which is reached from 
Hulett's Landing on the point south of the bay. Again 
striking across the lake to the west shore, we pass Sabbath 
Day Point, a bold projection, tradition says named because 
Abercrorabie halted his troops here over Sunday, on their 
way to attack Ticonderoga. Prosaic history destroys the ro- 
mance of this story by insisting that Abercrombie landed 
here on a Wednesday, and leaves the origin of the name still 
in the dark. Bluff Head is the point on the right shore, op- 
posite Sabbath Day Point, and the long ridge back of it is 
called Spruce Mountain. Six miles north of Sabbath Day 
Point, and twenty-eight from Caldwell, at the head of a semi- 
circular bay, lies the village of Hague, with its Phoenix Hotel 
and its fine fishing grounds in the broad lake. Just above is 
Friend's Point, off which lies Waltonian Isle, named from a 
party which formerly camped there. On the east shore, 
thirty miles from Caldwell, is a huge projecting hill, known 
as Anthony's Nose, off which the water is said to be the deep- 
est nf any in Lake George. Two miles further down, on the 
west shore, is Rogers's Slide, a smooth, nearly perpendicular 
wall of rock, 400 feet high, whose base is in the lake bottom. 
The story whence its name is derived is that in the winter of 
1758 Major Rogers, who commanded a company of Colonial 
soldiers, was scouting near the outlet of the lake, and was 
discovered and pursued by the Indians. He came to the high 
bluff, near the summit of the slide, and made his way down 
to the upper edge of the inclined plane ; here he unfastened 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. I39 

his snow-shoes, turned about in them, and with his toes to- 
wards the heels of his shoes, walked awaj from the rock, 
took a circuit down to the ice, and made his escape to Fort 
George. The Indians came to the top of the rock, and, see- 
ing apparently the tracks of two persons directed towards the 
lake, they supposed that two men must have slid down the 
rock; this belief was strengthened by the sight of the major 
running across the ice. The Indians were filled with wonder 
that any man could go down this long and steep descent, 
and find himself alive afterward; and they felt sure the major 
must have been under the protection of the Great Spirit, and 
dared not further molest one who had defied such danger. 
There seems to be no authority for the story, but Rogers was 
noted for his "Munchausen yarns," and very likely he told 
it. From this point the banks grow lower and less pictu- 
resque, the water shoals, and we approach the foot of the 
lake. Prisoner's Island, near the west shore, is so called from 
a tradition that in 1758, Abercrombie confined a lot of French 
prisoners on this island, whence they escaped by wading 
ashore. But while we are pondering on this remarkable 
statement, the boat nears the dock, a few bumps, a grating 
against the timbers, and we are fast to the pier, near which 
the cars are waiting to convey us to Lake Champlain. 

The Geology and History of Lake George. 

Where Lake George now reposes was once a valley, bounded 
by low hills of the primitive limestone rock, but the "drift 
period " of the geologists flooded the valley with a mighty 
deluge, and covered hill and dale with gravel, sand and soil. 
The flood passed, and the lake fell to its present level, the 
islands and hilly banks emerging clothed with soil, and the 
bed of the lake being covered with snow white sand. The 
water is of remarkable purity, so that objects can be seen at a 
great depth. Travellers liken Lake George to Loch Katrine 
in Scotland. The region around the lake, has been harried 
by the movements of hostile armies, until nearly every point 



14© TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

bears some historic or legendary repute. Even the islands 
were the home of brave and daring rangers, and some of 
them were even fortified, attacked, defended and captured, as 
military posts. Caldwell stands near the site of Fort Wil- 
liam Henry, which was erected by Gen. Johnson in 1755, after 
the battle near Bloody Pond already referred to. It was at 
this fort, in 1757, that the Indian allies of the French marquis, 
Montcalm, fell upon the English, who had surrendered them- 
selves to the French as prisoners of war, and murdered in 
cold blood or carried away captive fifteen hundred men. The 
ruins of Fort George are about a mile south-east from the 
Fort William Henry Hotel. All that is now left of the old 
fort is the ruins of the rectangular citadel that was built in- 
side of the breastworks. A part of the old wall, nearly twenty 
feet high is standing. 

In 1609, Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence and crossed 
the lake with which his name is ever since associated, to a 
point near the present site of Ticonderoga. His Indian com- 
panions described Lake George to him but he never entered 
it. The first white man probably who saw the lake, was 
Father Jogues, the Jesuit missionary, who in May, 1846, attend- 
ed by Jean Bourdon, the engineer, of Qtiebec, arrived at the 
outlet of the lake, on the eve of the festival of Corpus Christi, 
and in honor of the day gave the water the name of Lac du 
Sacrement, or Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. During the 
twenty years succeeding, visits were made to Lake St. Sacra- 
ment by the French from Canada, and in 1691 Major John 
Schuyler left Albany with a force which scouted up and down 
the lake. During Queen Anne's war, from 1702 to 1713, the 
lake was used as the route to Canada, as was also the case 
during the war of 1745 — 1760, when the peaceful quiet of its 
woods and waters was often broken by the rude shock of 
battle. In 1755 the battles near Williams Rock, in which 
Colonel Ephraim Williams and the old Mohawk Chief Hen- 
drick were killed ; the repulse of the French from Johnson's 
camp, near the subsequent site of Fort George, and the rout 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 14I 

and destruction of the French force at Bloody Pond followed 
in rapid succession, and during the entire war, Lake George 
was the scene of carnage and disorder. The story of the 
siege of Fort William Henry and of the various battles on 
the lake, can be found in any history of this country. About 
1770, peace having been restored, settlers began to locate on 
the shores of Lake George, and Forts George and Ticonderoga 
were substantially deserted and fast going to decay. In 1775 
the Revolutionary excitement began to be felt about Lake 
George, and the capture of Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen gave 
the possession of the whole section into the hands of the 
colonists. With these events the military history of the lake 
ceases. 



Ticonderoga and the Boad to Lake Champlain. 

But while we have thus been reminiscently engaged, the 
train has been waiting for us on the dock beside us, to convey 
us to Lake Champlain. Up to the fall of 1874, the trip was 
made on Baldwin's stages, and one of the events of the jour- 
ney was the oration delivered by the proprietor, who always 
accompanied them, on reaching the ruins of old Fort Ti. 
But now, a branch railroad from the New York and Canada, 
which IS slowly eating its way through the lime-stone cliffs 
on the west shore of Lake Champlain, and which passes by a 
tunnel underneath the promontory on which stand the ruins 
of the old fort, conveys us in a few moments from the land- 
ing, a few rods above the old dock at the foot of Lake George, 
along the outlet to the shore of Lake Champlain, beneath 
Mount Defiance. 

The outlet of Lake George is by a small river or large 
creek, which describes almost a horse shoe curve, and falls 
240 feet in its course of four miles. The Indians called it 
Cheonderoga or " Sounding Water," from its perpetual music, 
and the present name Ticonderoga is but a colonial corruption 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 1 43 

thereof. The French settlers called it Carillon, meaning a 
chime, from the same cause. The course of the creek is bro- 
ken by two considerable falls, and bj almost continuous 
rapids. Our road follows the left bank of the stream quite 
closely for a fevs^ rods, then crosses the creek and passes 
through the little village of Ticonderoga which lies near the 
lower falls. Then we continue along the stream, round by a 
sweeping curve to the right the base of the hill, which expands 
into the lofty eminence known as Mount Defiance, and bring 
up at the dock on Lake Champlain. Just across the bay into 
which the " outlet" widens, stands the Ticonderoga of history. 
We may if we choose, ascend Mount Defiance, and from its 
summit gain a wide and interesting view of the points so re. 
nowned in the old wars which were waged in this vicinity. 

Historical and Descriptive. 

Ticonderoga as we have seen, is an elevated point of land, 
with water on three sides, and is well adapted for defense. 
The first fortification was built in 1691 by Colonel Philip 
Schuyler, when he was on his way to attack the French at 
Laprairie. In 1755, the French works begun 25 years before 
at Crown Point being still weak and insufficient, Montcalm 
decided to build a new fort at Carillon, and up to 1759 the 
construction of works on this peninsula was actively pushed 
by the French. In the last named year they were evacuated 
and partially blown up, and Colonel Eyre planned a new 
work, but it was never completed, and in 1773 the fort was in 
a ruinous condition. May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict 
Arnold, and 85 Vermont and Massachusetts men surprised 
and captured the fort, which they held till July. In that 
month, the British having erected batteries on Mount Defi- 
ance, General St. Clair was forced to evacuate the position, 
and Ticonderoga again passed into the hands of the British. 
In 1777, after Burgoyne's defeat, it was dismantled, and though 
the British again occupied the position in 1780, it never be- 
came of value as a fortress. After the Revolution, the work 



144 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

were allowed to crumble and decay, and now the fortifications 
built at such fabulous expense are but a collection of pictu- 
resque ruins. The illustration conveys a better impression 
than can any description of their appearance. The outlines 
of the walls and ramparts can be traced, the walls of the offi- 
cers' quarters are still comparatively sound, and a vaulted 
chamber, variously called the bakery or the powder-magazine, 
is still accessible. But when it is remembered that up to a 
few years ago, the cut stone and brick of the fortifications 
and barracks were carried away by the vessel-load, to build 
new villages on the shores of Lake Champlain, it is easy to 
see that only the most vivid imagination can reconstruct any 
considerable portion of " Old Fort Ti." 





CHAPTER VI. 
The Journey down Lake Cliamplain. 

OR beauty of scenerj, Lake 
Champlain is little, if at all, 
inferior to Lake George. 
Everything is on a larger 
scale, and though there is 
nothing to compare with the 
lovely views through the 
Narrows or among the isl- 
ands of the smaller lake, 
there is more of grandeur 
and expansiveness, and the 
combinations of mountain 
SiET and water view afforded at 
various points on Lake 
Champlain are among the 
finest of American natural 
pictures. 

•;r :-^ ' t', '' 7 This lake, discovered and 

named in 1609 by Samuel de Champlain, lies between the 
States of Vermont and New York, and has a length of 130 
miles from Whitehall at the southern extremity, to its north- 
ern outlet. It varies in breadth from half a mile to ten miles, 
and in depth ;rom 50 to 280 feet. Among the rivers that flow 
into it ^re the Chazy, Saranac, Ausable, and Boquet on the 
7 




146 TOLTJilSTS' HANDBOOK. 

west; the Winooski andMissisquoi on the east. The lake dis- 
charges into the St. Lawrence River, through a river known bj 
various names, as the Sorel, St. Johns, or more generally the 
Richelieu. The first forty miles of the passage northward 
from Whitehall is more like a ride upon a river than a lake, 
as in this portion it often narrows to less than half a mile in 
width, and in some places to fifty or sixty rods. The boat 
glides over the even surface of the lake; the woods, hillsides, 
and farmhouses are in full view; a fresh, balmy air floats from 
the pastures and hilltops to the waters of the lake ; there is 
none of the monotony of a sea voyage, none of the pitching 
and tossing experienced on the great western lakes, but per- 
fect comfort, easy motion, reviving air, constant changes of 
view, and most enchanting scenery. All these make a sail 
from Whitehall to Ticonderoga more like the motions of 
fairies wafted through realms of beauty, than the ordinary lo- 
comotion of mortal men. South Bay is on the west side of 
the lake, about one mile from Whit-ehall Landing; and near 
here, at a bend in the lake, known as the "Elbow," is "Put's 
Rock," where Major Putnam with a small body of men opened 
fire upon five hundred Indians who were in their canoes upon 
the lake, a few days before Putnam was taken prisoner at 
Fort Ann. Arriving opposite the outlet of Lake George, we 
shall see on our left and towering above us. Mount Defiance, 
still crowned with the remains of the works erected by Bur- 
goyne in 1777, and beyond, across the mouth of the creek, the 
promontory and ruins of Ticonderoga. On the other shore 
of the lake, to our right, stands Mount Independence, 
where, in 1777, St. Clair had works connected by a pontoon 
bridge with the main position at Ticonderoga. In a moment 
we land at the little pier beneath Mount Defiance, and receive 
on board the passengers from Lake George. Proceeding 
north from Ticonderoga, the Lake gradually spreads out and 
becomes wider, and the scenery increases in grandeur. To 
the right we have constantly before us the green hills of Ver- 
mont, surmounted_,by the"J.o[ty bulk of Mount Mansfield; to 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 1 47 

the left, the rugged shores of New York, with the purple 
peaks of the Adirondacks in the distance, and before us the 
blue waters of the lake, studded with emerald isles. Twelve 
miles above Ticonderoga the lake narrows again, the shores 
of Addison closing in on the right, while Crown Point pro- 
jects from the left, leaving only half a mile of clear water be- 
tween. But on rounding Crown Point, the great Bulwagga 
Baj widens to the left, at the head of which is Port Henry, a 
landing place for the steamers, whence the Crown Point of 
history is visited. 

Crown Point and Its History. 

The importance of this point to the control of the lake was 
early recognized by the French, and in 1731 the first work, 
a pentagonal star-fort, with bastioned angles, was erected here 
and named Fort St. Frederic, in honor of Frederic Maurepas, 
the premier of France. The outer wall of limestone enclosed 
barracks, a church, and a bomb-proof tower. The French 
designed to establish here a province to be attached to the 
Canadian domain, with Point de la Couronne as its capital. 
In 1759, after Lord Amherst captured Ticonderoga, the French 
peaceably abandoned Fort St. Frederic, which had become un- 
tenable, and Amherst began here the construction of a first- 
class fortress, which eventually cost the British government 
ten millions of dollars. By a fire in 1773, the works were 
seriously damaged, and two years later, with their armament 
of 114 guns, they fell into the hands of Warner and his 
" Green Mountain Boys." The next year, the Americans, re- 
treating from the disastrous attack on Quebec, wintered here, 
and in 1777 Burgoyne made this his depot of supplies. The 
peninsula is a mile wide, and is a solid mass of limestone, 
thinly covered with earth, and the remains of the works still 
extant, show that they must have been of wonderful extent 
and strength. The ramparts were half a mile in extent, 25 
feet high and of the same thickness, with bastions, ditches, 
curtains and glacis outside, and enclosed a broad parade and 



148 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

massive stone barracks, whose walls still stand. A covered 
way led from the northeast angle to the edge of the lake, 
where a well ninety feet deep and eight in diameter is cut in 
the solid rock. The ruined ramparts are now covered with 
thorn apple bushes, of a kind peculiar to this spot alone, and 
said to have been brought from France, which in their season 
are aflame with crimson fruit. The ruins of the old French 
Fort, St. Frederic, stand on the steep precipice overlooking 
the lake, and 200 yards northeast of the newer British works. 
Near at hand are the remains of the French settlement, which 
history and tradition inform us, was at one time a village of 
1500 inhabitants, with stores, paved streets, gardens and vine- 
yards. 

Opposite Crown Point is Chimney Point, where the French, 
in 163 1, made their first settlement in this vicinity, just 100 
years before they began to fortify Crown Point. They named 
it Point de la Chevelure. Fort Henry, at the mouth of 
Bulwagga Bay, north from Crown Point, is noted for its ex- 
pensive iron works, the supplies of which come from the vast 
deposits of magnetic ore in the mountains to the northwest. 

Down the Lake to Burlington. 

From this point northward, we keep the green shores in 
view on either hand, with the mountain ranges for back- 
ground, and soon turn into Northwest Bay, on the New York 
shore, where we land at the little town of Westport, whence 
stages run to Elizabethtown, Keene and the Saranac Lakes. 
Vergennes is soon visible on the east side of the lake, seven 
miles from the mouth of Otter Creek, which here empties into 
the lake. This town has special advantages for shipbuilding ; 
and here the flotilla was built and equipped, which captured 
the British fleet at Plattsburg. Thirty miles north of Crown 
Point, on the west of the lake, is a geological curiosity known 
as Split Rock. Near the light-house a point runs out into the 
lake, at the end of which there is an island of half an acre or 
more in extent, separated from the main land by a fissure 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I49 

fifteen feet wide. The water flows through this fissure ; and 
in it soundings have been made five hundred feet without 
finding bottom. Several theories have been broached to 
account for this formation, but none of them are perfectly 
conclusive. Just above Split Rock, is Essex, a pleasant vil- 
lage on the west shore. At this point the lake grows wider, 
giving greater room for navigation ; and eight or ten miles 
above Split Rock the lake is five miles wide. At the town of 
Willsborough,- eight miles north of Split Rock, is the mouth 
of Boquet River, a stream which rises in the Adirondack 
Mountains, and is the outlet of some of the most attractive 
ponds found in that range. Our course bears hence to the 
eastward, and soon we see Shelburne Bay, on the Vermont 
shore, the winter qviarters and ship-jard of the Champlain 
steamboats. And just here is a favorable point to say some- 
thing about these steamers. One would scarcely expect to 
find on this little inland sea, boats comparing favorably as to 
size, speed and luxury, with the floating palaces of the Hudson 
River, or Long Island Sound ; yet such is the case. The boats 
Vermont, Adirondack and Champlain, with their handsome 
saloons, their sumptuous tables, their uniformed oflScers and 
crews, their broad expanse of open deck with armies of cane- 
seat chairs, their comfortable and nicely furnished state 
rooms, and their elegantly carpeted and richly furnished 
saloons, would do no discredit to either of the celebrated 
routes named above. As we stand across the widening lake 
to the eastern shore, we see Rock Dunder, a sharp cone, 
thirty feet high, rising abruptly out of the water. It is related 
that in the war of 1812, a British man-of-war fiercely can- 
nonaded it, suspecting it to be a Yankee infernal machine. 
Near the middle of the lake are the Four Brothers islands, 
called by the French Isles des Qiiatres Vents, and soon we 
see the houses and spires of Burlington, at the head of the 
bay of the same name, on the eastern shore. A lighthouse on 
Juniper Island, and a breakwater that protects the shipping in 
the harbor, are the objects that are passed in approaching 



150 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

the landing, and the first thing that particularly attracts our 
attention is the immense quantity of lumber piled in huge 
masses along the wharves. 

The City of Burlington. 

Burlington is the largest and wealthiest city in Vermont, 
and is often called the Qj.ieen City. Its location, on a long 
sloping hill, whose foot is laved by Lake Champlain, gives it 
a magnificent outlook upon the beautiful water, stretching 
ten miles in width, and beyond the range of vision north and 
south. From the west windows of almost any building — so 
regular is the rise of the ground — a fine view is gained, but 
the best is perhaps from the dome of the University of Ver- 
mont. This institution, one mile from the shores of the bay, 
is 370 feet above its level. The three halls of the University 
have been united in one building, surmounted by a tin cov- 
ered dome. The panorama presented to the eye from this 
point is truly wonderful. Lake Champlain, the Green Moun- 
tains and the Adirondacks being in sight, and over sixty 
mountain peaks distinctly visible. Beautiful drives stretch 
away in every direction; and ihe billowy mountain ridges, 
swelling into countless pointed waves, and scooped into tleep 
hollows, abound on every side. But a short distance further 
inland, in the rural cemeterj^ overlooking the Winooski, or 
Onion River, is the grave of Ethan Allen. The marble obe- 
lisk, supporting a heroic size statue of Allen, dedicated July 
4, 1873, bears the inscription : 

THE 

CORPOREAL PART 

OF 

GENERAL ETHAN ALLEN 

RESTS BENEATH THIS STONE. 

THE I2TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1 789, 

AGED 50 YEARS. 

HIS SPIRIT TRIED THE MERCIES OP HIS GOD, 

IN WHOM ALONE HE BELIEVED AND STRONGLY TRUSTED. 



152 TOURISTS' HANDBOOk. 

A short distance be^yond, in a deep valley, are the falls of 
the Winooski, utilized for the propulsion of flouring mills, 
around which a lively village has sprung up. These falls are 
very romantic and striking, and in high water quite majestic 
in their proportions. Mount Mansfield, 4279 feet high, lies 20 
miles to the northeast of Burlington ; and Camel's Hump, 
4183 fee', the same distance to the southeast. Conveyances 
may be obtained at Burlington for both these mountains. 
High Bridge, Howard's Summit, and Point Rock Institute 
are the places of interest which all travellers who can spare 
the time wa.it to see. For this purpose many stop over 
night, and get a few hours in the morning to drive about the 
city and the suburbs. Excellent accommodations for guests 
are found at the American Hotel, managed by Mr. H. H. 
Howe, and at the Van Ness House, kept by Barber & Co., a 
new brick structure of considerable capacity and first class in 
its accommodations. 

A Magnificent Lake View. 

The view across the lake at sunset from either of these 
houses is worth a journey to Burlington in itself. The sun 
sinking below the misty peaks of the Adirondacks in 
the hazy distance, sheds a golden refulgence across 
the sparkling expanse of intervening water. . The green 
islets on the bosom of the lake are illumined till they gleam 
like emeralds in the warm glow; and as the sunlight fades 
out and the darkness slowly settles down, the scene is bathed 
in an ever-changing radiance, turning from gold to crimson, 
from crimson to purple, from purple to violet, and from violet 
to the bluish-black of the early evening. And then the 
stars come out, one by one, till the firmament above is sprink- 
led as with silvery dust, and every particle of this shining 
dust is duplicated in the liquid mirror below. Then the 
moon rising over the great ridge to the east blazons a broad 
pathway of frosted silver across the lake, and turns each pro- 
jecting rock, each lone dead tree into a silver milestone to 



TOURISTS' HANbBdOK. 1 53 

mark the waj. Such a scene witnessed once, can never be 
forgotten, and its memory is worth a summer of ordinary 
sight-seeing. The city is neatly built and regularly laid out, 
with several fine churches, an imposing city hall, fronting on 
a little green near the centre, a custom house and post office 
building, and an elegant court house but a block or two 
away. The lumber mills are the city's chief source of wealth. 
Some 50,000,000 feet are annually exported, and the business 
is constantly increasing. 

Across the Lake to Plattsburg. 

Leaving the wharf at Burlington, we steam nearly straight 
across the lake to Port Kent. South Hero — the largest island 
in the lake, and which with North Hero comprises the county 
of Grand Isle, Vermont — is seen right ahead, and passing 
west of this inland, Valcour Island appears upon the left. Just 
south of Valcour Island was the first naval engagement of the 
Revolutionary war, on the nth of October, 1776, between 
the American fleet, commanded by Benedict Arnold, and the 
British under Gov. Carleton and Capt. Pringle. Valcour 
Island is one of the largest and handsomest of the islands in 
Lake Champlain, excepting North and South Hero Islands, 
which are like continents almost in their extent, being laid 
out in farms of large extent, and having one or two consider- 
able villages within their limits. Valcour is lofty, wooded to 
the water's edge, and surrounded on all sides by deep water. 
On the westerly side is a handsome stone lighthouse, recently 
built by the United States government, as an aid to the navi- 
gation of the lake. The experiment of founding a free-love 
community was tried in 1874 on Valcour Island, and quite a 
number of colonists went into the scheme, but as is usually the 
case with such experiments, internal dissensions and quarrels 
over the property involved, broke up the arrangement. Port 
Kent is a small village whence considerable iron ore is shipped 
and whence stages run to Keeseville, the Adi ondacks and 
the Ausable Chasm. After leaving Port Kent, we pass 



154 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

through the narrow but deep channel between Valcour Island 
and the west shore of the lake. The wreck of the Roval 
Savage, sunk in the engagement mentioned above, still lies 
in the water of the Island, and is frequently visited by parties 
of the youth of the neighboring shore, who dive to the sunken 
Lulk for " relics." North of Valcour is Ciab Island, on which 
the Americans had a small battery in the battle of Plattsburg, 
andwiiere the sailors killed in the fight were buried. Passing 
this island, we turn to the left and enter Cumberland Bay, a 
noble expanse of water, nearly land-locked by Cumberland 
Head, which projects far out into the lake and encloses the 
bay on the north and northeast. On its extreme point is a 
lighthouse, and at the head of the bay and mouth of the 
Saranac river which empties here, is the town of Plattsburg. 
A long mole or breakwater, with a small lighthouse on either 
end, protects the open side of tne harbor, and within vessels 
can safely lie at any time. 

The Lower End of the Lake. 

Leaving Plattsbuig and its neighboring attractions for 
future mention, we will continue down the lake. It seems 
odd to any one but a " native" to speak of going north as 
" down the lake," yet as Nature has willed that Champlain 
should discharge its waters into the St. Lawrence, north is 
'' down " and we must submit to it. We round Cumberland 
Head on our left as we leave the harbor, and pass between 
the west shore and Grand Isle. Fifteen miles north, Isle La 
Motte, on which the French in 1665 built a fort, rises on our 
right, and to the east of this, the peninsula known as Alburgh 
Tongue makes down from the nortti on the eastern shore, 
enclosing a large and beautiful expanse or arm of the lake, 
known as Missisquoi Bay. The large island of North Hero 
lies directly in its entrance, leaving only a channel on either 
side. Ten miles further north, or twenty-five from Platts- 
burg and 130 from Whitehall, we reach Rouse's Point, the end 
of our steamboat voyage. Rouse's Point is a small and un- 



TOURISTS' HAND-BOOK. I55 

attractive village, noted only as a railroad centre and as the 
frontier post, where Uncle Sam's custom officers inspect the 
baggage of tourists coming from Her Brittanic Majesty's 
dominions. Here the waters of the lake are discharged 
through the broad Richelieu or St. Johns river, seventy miles 
long, which empties into the St. Lawrence below Montreal. 
Who Rouse was, or why he located his point here, history 
does not inform us. It does tell us, however, that the 
fortification — in an unfini.shed and decidedly demoralized 
condition, a mile north of the village — is Fort Montgomery, 
and was built to command the Richelieu river, with 164 guns. 
After work had progressed on it for some time, it was found to 
stand on British soil, and only a generous change of boundary 
g ive it to the United States. The Western Division ofthe Cen- 
tral Verinont Railroad, diverging westward from the main 
line at St. Albans, Vt., and running thence to Ogdensburgh, 
here crosses the river on a pile bridge a mile long, with a 
floating draw 300 feet in length. The water is very clear 
here, and from the car windows droves of fish can be seen 
inquisitively smelling of the bridge piles, and apparently 
waiting to be hooked from the windows of the house on the 
bridge, buiit for the accommodation ofthe draw tenders. 




CHAPTER VII. 
Plattsburgh and the Ausable Chasm. 



USABLE is a word frequently 
heard in and about Platts- 
burgh The river of that 
name, taking its rise among 
the Adirondacks empties into 
the lake a few miles below 
the town, and the famous 
chasm — also called "Walled 
B mks of the Ausable" — is 
one of the most noted objects 
of interest in its vicinity. 
That it is worthy tenfold the 
\li fame it now enjoys, this nar- 
rative will soon make evid- 
ent. But fiist we must look 
about Plattsburgh a little, 
and make preparations for a trip to the chasm. The town 
proper is noted for two things, one in the past, the other in 
the pre-ent. The first is the batth- which in 1814 did so much 
towards settling our last open disagreement with the British 
lion ; the other is Fouquet's Hotel, which has done and is 
still doing so much for the comfort of visitors to this section. 
Taking the subjects in chronological order, we will read up a 
little on the history of the famous battle of Plattsburgh. The 




TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 157 

British, in the war of 1812, looked upon Lake Champlain as 
one of the easiest as well as most direct routes for their inva- 
sion of the States from their Canadian possession. In 
the former assumption thej were somewhat "out," as the 
sequel shows. The Americans had resolved to contest the 
supremacy of the lake, and both sides put forth their utmost 
energies during the Summer of 1814 in preparation. There 
was the greatest despatch in getting vessels ready for defence. 
The Saratoga, which carried twenty-six guns, being the larg- 
est American vessel on the lake, was built at Vergennes, and 
launched on the twentieth day after the first tree in her frame 
was brought from the forest. Capt. McDonough, the com- 
mander of the American fleet, anchored in Cumberland Bay on 
the 3d of September, and waited for the fleet of the enemy. 
His flotilla consisted of the Saratoga, the Eagle of twenty 
guns, the Ticonderoga of seventeen, the Preble of seven, and 
ten gunbcats. On the morning of the 8th, the British fleet 
rounded CiK.berland Head and advanced to the attack. Com- 
modore Downie was in command, and his vessels Were the 
Confiance of thirty-eight guns, the Linnet of sixteen, the 
Chub and Finch of eleven guns each, and twelve gunboats. 
The total strength of the Americans were 86 guns and 852 
men, while the invaders numbered 95 guns andio95 men. As 
• the hostile fleet approached, McOonough knelt on the deck of 
the Saratoga, surrounded by his officers and men, and invoked 
the aid of the God of battles ; then gave the signal to begin 
the action. The Saratoga and Eagle opened, when Downie's 
flagship, the Confiance, closing in upon the Saratoga, swept 
her decks with a tremendous broadside, and the Linnet by an 
advantage of positio,n was enabled to rake her from stem to 
stern. But the brave McDonough kept up his fire till his 
whole starboard battery was disabled, when, by a skillful 
manoeuvre, he turned about and opened such a terrific fire from 
his port battery that he compelled both his antagonists to 
strike their flags. Meantime, the Eagle had captured the Chub, 
the Ticonderoga had disabled the Finch, and after 2^ hours of 



158 TOURISTS' HA XD BO OK. 

steady cannonading, the whole British fleet had surrendered. 
Commodore Downie had been killed and McDonough had 
been disabled bj two severe wounds. Sir George Prevost, 
meanwhile had attacked the land position of the Americans 
across the peninsula, between the Saranac and the lake, with 
14,000 veteran British troops, and had vainly attempted to 
storm the rude earth-works by fording the river in three 
coluinns. The defeat of the naval forces, and fears of being 
surrounded by the rapidly gathering militia of New York and 
Vermont, led Prevost to precipitately retreat in the night, 
leaving his stores and wounded behind. His loss in this en- 
gagement was 2000; that of the Americans less than 150. 
General Macomb, who commanded the Americans, had but 
1500 regulars, 700 New York and 2500 Vermont militia. The 
exultation of the Yankees over their victory was immense ; 
McDonough and Macomb were loaded with honors and sub- 
stantial rewards, while the chagrin of the British found vent 
in the degradation of Prevost, which Downie, being dead, did 
not partake. The scenes of the land and naval engagements 
are still pointed out to visitors to Plattsburgh, and the site of 
the American batteries are still visible. 

So much for the memories of the past. Now for the real- 
ities of the present. 

Fouquet's Hotel and its Attractions. 

Fouquet's Hotel is the present feature, par excellence, of 
Plattsburgh and has given it more celebrity than any other 
one feature. No person visiting the Adirondacks — which in 
recent years have become no less a fashionable resort than a 
sanitarium and a paradise for the sportman — fails to stop at 
Fouquet's going or coming, to test the wonders of its cm'si'ne, 
the luxury of its cool, fragrant bedrooms and sleep-wooing 
beds, and to revel in the balmy enchantments of its delight- 
ful flower-garden. From Fouquet's, by teams, which can be 
had on application, from the stables, sight-seers are conveyed 
to all points of interest in and about Plattsburg. This house 



o 

o 




l6o TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

has been known to the travelling public for more than seventy 
years. The family of Mr. Fouquet has met with great suc- 
cess in hotel keeping, having an appreciative sense of what 
travellers want, and providing accordingly. In June, 1864, 
the house standing on the site of the present beautiful struc- 
ture was burned, and the present hotel was erected a year or 
two later. The late proprietor, Mr. Louis M. Fouquet — p.t 
son of Mr. D. L. Fouquet and grandson of Mr. John L. 
Fouquet, who in 1798 opened the first public house on this 
site — was a gentleman by instinct and practice ; a man of intel- 
lect and culture, a poet, an artist, and a lover of all that is 
beautiful in nature ; to which he added a never-failing thought- 
fulness of the needs and wishes of his guests, and a personal 
interest in their comfort. He died May 26, 1875, and the 
house was purchased by Apollos A. Smith & Co., now kept 
by Messrs. Smith & Martin, well-known to Adironack visitors 
by their management of " Paul Smith's." 

The present house accommodates 150 guests, its rooms are 
large, well ventilated, refitted and re-furnished, while the 
table is famed for its exquisite cookery and its perfect attend- 
ance. The house has always been the favorite resort of the 
United States officers stationed at the port, and MacDonough, 
Worth, Wool, Bonneville, Magruder, Hooker, Kearney, 
Richetts and "Stonewall" Jackson, have quartered here 
during their service at Plattsburgh. 

The grounds and fragrant flower garden afford a most agree- 
able retreat. The broad piazzas on two sides of the house, 
and the promenade upon the roof, give a wide view of the 
lake, battle-ground, the scene of the naval engagement, the 
village, the surrounding country', and the mountains on every 
side. The house, by its beautiful and spacious grounds, fur- 
nishes safe and pleasant accommodations for ladies and chil- 
dren through the summer. There are large brick stables on 
the grounds, intended for the accommodation of guests who 
bring their own horses and carriages, as well as to furnish 
teams for rides and excursions. 



t62 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

The Town of Plattsburgh. 
The Plattsburgh of the present daj is a thriving town whose 
business prosperity is due to its saw-mills on the Saranac 
river at the rapids near its month, and to its extensive lake 
commerce. It has about 6,000 inhabitants and is the capital 
of Clinton county. The court house and other county build- 
ings stand on Margaret street, near the little park at the centre, 
and near by, on the same street, are Trinity Church and the 
Custom House. There are several handsome churches, and 
many of the streets leading from the bay over the high plateau 
back of the business centre, are lined with handsome trees and 
spacious grounds, while elegant residences lookout from their 
environment of trees. The United States barracks, a frontier 
post of considerable importance, and during the war a receiv- 
ing depot for troops, are on a sandy bluff a mile south of 
the village, and the bugle call which announces " reveille," 
"retreat," and "tattoo," is one of the familiar sounds of 
Plattsburgh. There are several very pleasant and inter- 
esting drives in the vicinity of Plattsburgh. That around 
Cumberland Head affords splendid views of the lake and the 
scene of the battle of 1814. Another is to the town of Danne- 
mora, sixteen miles northwest of Plattsburgh, in which is 
situated the Clinton Prison, as it is called. Here is an eleva- 
tion 1,700 feet high; but the ascent is so gradual that in 
riding up from Plattsburgh it is scarcely observed to rise at 
all. This is visited chiefly for the beautiful view that is 
afforded of the surrounding country, — the Green Mountains 
in the east, Lake Champlain stretching to the southeast, 
the winding course of the Saranac to the south, and the 
high Adirondack peaks to the westward. Five miles beyond, 
in the town of Dannemora, is Chazy Lake, a little gem, set in 
the most picturesque and beautiful surrounding. This lake is 
about four miles long by two wide, and is a favorite resort of 
the sportsman as well as the admirer of natural scenery. This 
lake is nowhere surpassed as a place for fishing. Trout 
weighing twenty pounds have been taken from it. The road 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 63 

to the lake was built with great cai'e, at the expense of the 
State, and is in good condition. Near Chazj Lake stands 
Lion Mountain, sometimes called on the maps Lynn Moun- 
tain ; Bradley Pond is two miles "v\'«st of Chazy Lake, and west 
of this there is a path running three miles farther to the Upper 
Chateaugay Lake. West of the Upper Chateaugay Lake is 
Ragged Lake, six miles long and half a mile wide. 
From the town to the mouth of the Ausable, and back along 
the lake shore, is another favorite drive and one of the finest 
on a clear morning that can anywhere be enjoyed. As this is 
a part of the route to the Ausable Chasm, and as we have 
been all this time getting ready for the trip hither, we will 
suppose ourselves stepping from the verandah of Fouquet's 
into one of Ransom's easy carriages, draw by a pair of spank- 
ing bays, in the clear, cool early morning, bound for the 
Chasin. 

The Drive to Ausable Chasm. 

Our course leads us out through the southern part of the 
town, across the sandy plain by the barracks, past the Catho- 
lic cemetery with its odd monuments, in sight of the Sara- 
nac river, with its amber waters churned into foam as it pours 
over the rocky ledges, and millions of logs, floated down from 
the Adirondack woods and ponds, stranded and waiting for 
the next freshet to send them down to the booms above the 
Plattsburgh saw mills. A little further on our road descends 
to the shore of the lake, which it follows for several miles. 
The panorama is both grand and beautiful. To the left is 
the clear, blue lake, stretching away almost beyond the line 
of vision, with the Vermont hills forming a low purple wall in 
the background. Near at hand, the liquid expanse is broken 
by Valcour Island, with its dense green foliage, and at our 
feet lie occasional fishing boats, about which are fishermen 
busy with their nets. Along the lake shore, at the outer 
edge of the road, a line of poplars, tall and erect, set before 
the war of 181 2, stand like sentinels watching the border. 



164 TOVRISTS' HANDBOOK. 

To our right are smooth, rolling farm lands, with solid stone 
houses and mammoth barns, telling of fertile acres and abun- 
dant crops. In the distance the Adirondack peaks pierce the 
clouds, and their grim wall, softened by the distance to a 
most unsubstantial looking blue, shuts in the scene Before 
us Mount Trembleau stands like a grim giant to bar our way, 
and across the lake a great mass like a lion couchant indicates 
and justifies the name of Lion Mountain which it bears. At 
intervals of a few miles, old landings project mto the lake, 
where, before the days of the railroad, sailing vessels and 
steamers landed, and whence plank roads led back into the 
country, but which are now obsolete, and whose docks and 
storehouses are falling to pieces. We ford the Ausable river 
near its mouth, and opposite a lovely butternut grove, a 
favo ite picnic resort in summer. The river is now but two 
or three feet deep at this point, but in the Spring it tears and 
roars along all over the surrounding bottom lands, as shown 
by the floodwood and gravel deposited here and there on the 
meadows We follow the general course of this stream two 
or three miles up, till on rising a hill we see a turn in the 
road to the right, a plash of falling water, a stone bridge, and 
on the other side a gray stone house on which is painted 
"Chism House." Here our driver pulls up, and informs us 
that here is the head of the chasm, and that it extends a mile 
or two close beside the road over which we have come. All 
we have seen has been a dense thicket, mostly cedar — not a 
sign of a glen or a stream. And no wonder. We might 
have walked through this th'cket, and until we reached its 
very brink, or perhaps stepped off into the narrow, vertical 
crevice, we should not have seen the chasm. 

The Chasm and its Wonders. 

We drive up to a small wooden building called the Lodge, 
which we enter, leaving our wrappings and "traps" in the 
carriage to be regained at the lower end of the chasm, to 
which our driver proceeds, while we make the underground 



(v^tHE route through the 
Tlf I Chasm described in the 
I adjoining pages, begins 
at the " Upper Entrance " 
near the bottom of the Map, 

and continues upward to "The 
Pool " near the upper right 
hand corner. 




OF THE 



[Taken by permission from Stod- 
dard's "Adirondacks."] 



1 66 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

trip on foot. We paj half a dollar a piece for a ticket of ad- 
mission, are shown to the head of a flight of stairs on the 
chasm side of the house, and start on our journey. There 
are lOO steps in this almost perpendicular staircase, and we 
descend with a good deal of trepidation, and stand on the 
solid rock at the bottom with a sense of relief Here we find 
ourselves looking at two prodigious perpendicular walls, 75 
feet high, one on either hand. Almost at our feet, the shelf 
of smooth rock on which we stand gives place to vacancy. 
Stepping to the edge we look and see the river roaring over 
its rocky bed a few feet below us. We proceed up stream a 
few rods, and turning a corner of the rocky wall we are face 
to face with and at the foot of a cataract very like the Ameri- 
can fall at Niagara, in all save grandeur. It is the Birming- 
ham Fall, sixty feet high divided in the centre by a tower of 
solid rock on which rests the pier of the bridge which we have 
seen from above, and which spans the river just at the verge of 
the fall. We gaze at the foamy cataract for a few moments and 
then begin our journey down stream, through the wonderful 
glen. For the first few minutes we proceed on the right bank 
of the stream, along the same rocky shelf or ledge to which 
we first descended (past the foot of the stairs, and the Horse- 
shoe Falls, where the river tumbles over a semi- circular ledge 
some ten feet in height, and then makes an abrupt turn to the 
right) and then cross the stream on a wooden foot bridge 
resting upon the ledges on either side and a rocky islet in 
mid-stream, whence we gain a splendid view of the Birming- 
ham and Horse-shoe Falls. 

From this point, we climb by a most trying flight of stairs, 
to the summit of a lofty projection of the left bank of the river, 
which bars further progress along the ledge, then crossing the 
point on the top of the earth, we descend on the other side, by 
another flight of steps. This projecting tower bears the name 
of Jacob's Ladder. A minute description of the rest of the 
trip through this wonderful glen, would be merely a chronicle 
of steps ascended and steps descended, some 700 in all ; of 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 67 

long galleries of plank anchored to the rockj wall traversed, 
bj which we continue our journey where the ledge of rock 
ceases to give a foothold ; of one long stretch where the 
waters in the Spring freshets have cut a passageway in the 
stonj sides of the chasm, barelv wide and high enough to 
permit of our crawling like inserts, while the honeycombed 
depressions in the rock, filled with the cards and address en- 
velopes of previous visitors, give the spot the fitting name of 
" The Post Office," and last and most delightful feature of all, 
a glide down stream in a little boat, through the famous 
Flume. 

To generalize the tour, it is only necessary to say that the 
chasm is a rift in the massive rock — of Potsdam sand-stone, 
— from ten to fifty feet wide, and from sixty to 200 feet deep. 
Through the bottom, the Ausable makes its way, now pouring 
noisily over a little fall, now gliding rapidly over a ledge, now 
expanding into a placid pool, and now surging through a nar- 
row gateway, where the eternal walls seems disposed to close, 
and forbid entirely the passage of the stream. The Flume, 
already mentioned, is a long, smooth stretch of water, between 
walls almost as smooth and straight as if carved and polished 
by the stone-cutter's art. Here the gorge is very narrow ; so 
narrow that you can almost touch the walls on either hand, 
and the water so deep as to appear perfectly black. Through 
this gloomy pass, recalling somehow, reveries of Venetian 
canals, the Bridge of Sighs and the passage of black gondolas 
with prisoners for the gloomy subaqueous dungeons of the 
Doges, we smoothly drift in the small batteau to the lower 
end, where the walls expand ; the grateful sunlight, so long 
excluded, pours down upon the water, the banks recede and 
slope gently to the river's brink in a little sandy beach, and 
the broadening stream roars and plashes over a little rapid 
just below. We land on the beach, and a flight of stairs as- 
cends to the top of the bank, where our carriage waits. At 
the head of the stairs is a small house, where mild refresh- 
mentSj^as ginger pop and soda, are dispensed, and where ex- 



1 68 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

cellent photographs and stereoscopic views of the marvellous 
Chasm are for sale, at prices fullj as low as are charged for 
similar articles in Boston or New York. A few of the chief 
objects of interest on our waj down the Chasm, are Jacob's 
Ladder, a bold, projecting tower, around which the river 
makes a sort of goosenecl^ curve ; the Leaning Tower, the 
Tower of Babel, the Pyramid, Point of Rocks, Point Surprise, 
the Sentinel and the Broken Needle, all loftj columnar forms ; 
Mystic Gorge and half a hundred of other nameless rifts or 
lateral fissures, branching off at right angles to the main cleft, 
into its solid walls; Cathedral Rocks, between which a flight 
of 2IO steps rises to the bank above; 

Cathedral Rocks. 

Table Rock, a broad fiat plateau of stone at the foot of 
Cathedral Rocks, and no end of attractions dignified by the 
name of his Satanic Majesty — the Devil's Oven, the Devil's 
Slide, the Devil's Chimney, the Devil's Punchbowl, the 
Devil's Pulpit, and Hell Gate. The Devil's Oven is merely a 
large cave in the side of the Chasm, a little below Jacob's 
Ladder and on the opposite side. It has been formed evi- 
dently by the gradual disintegration of the layers of soft rock, 
which have crumbled into little cubical blocks and fallen 
down, so that there is quite a sloping pyramid of them leading 
up to the entrance of the oven. His Slide is one of the 
transverse fissures, which extends in a regular slope from the 
bottom of the glen up to daylight above ; his Pulpit and his 
Chimney are projections of rock from the top of the cliffs, 
resembling the objects named ; and his Punchbowl is a deep 
pool formed by a turn in the great cleft through which the 
river runs, and instead of punch it holds the clearest and 
purest of water. Why all these notable objects should be 
surrendered to the custody of the Prince of Darkness it is 
hard to say, unless it be to deter the visitor from any contem- 
plated wickedness by the fear of drowning in the Punchbowl 
or roasting in the Oven. But travel where you will, the most 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



169 



wonderful and grand objects in nature are named, with won- 
derful unanimity, after the Devil. Until within a few years, 
the Ausable Chasm, though a local wonder, was little known 
to the outside world, and few visits were paid to it. About 
1868, the stairs at the Cathedral Rocks were built, and visitors 




CATHEDRAL ROCKS. 



who had hitherto scrambled down as best they could near the 
Devil's Oven, were provided with a safe and comfortable 
means of entering the Chasm. In 1873, a party of Philadel- 
phia capitalists purchased the land on the ri^ht bank of the 
glen, built the lodge, the stairways, galleries and bridges, and 
8 



lyo 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 



put in the boat. They also built in the summer of 1874 a new- 
hotel on the high ground overlooking the lake, the river above 
the Falls and the surrounding country. It is called the Lake 
View House, and is a handsome three-story structure, with a 
tall tower, large, airy, well furnished rooms lighted by gas, 
and all the requisites of a first-class summer hotel. With the 
present facilities, the Ausable Chasm is one of the most 
accessible and easily visited places, and certainly none will 
better repay the tourist for a day's time and a few dollars 
expense. 




' ^ 



Fo I 

Plao 



This fold-out is being d 

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CHAPTER VIII. 



The Adirondack Region. 

LATTSBURGH is the most convenient 
point from which to penetrate the Adirondack 
region from this direction though as we have 
seen before, Port Kent, Essex, Westport, on 
Lake Champlain, and vari- 
ous points on the Adiron- 
dack Raih^oad are taken as 
points of departure by tour- 
ists bound for the hunting 
^Ipand fishing paradise of the 
• North "oods." During 
the last few years these 
woods have been invested 
and infested with great 
nunibers of people fitly 
called '' Miu'ray's Fools," 
who have rushed hither imagining that it was the thing to do, 
without the slightest intelligent idea as to the nature of the 
country or what is required for the proper enjoyment of the 
resort. They have come hither attired in watering place 
style, the men with most elegant guns, rods and flies, expect- 
ing to shoot deer and catch trout from the piazza of a hotel, 
and to wear their silk hats, white trousers, primrose kids and 
patent-leather boots while doing it; the ladies with beruffled 
and befrilled silk and muslin costumes and Saratoga trunks , 




172 



TOUmSTS' HANDBOOK. 



bent on making a sensation — which thej generally do. These 
sillj people have brought the Adirondacks into disrepute 
by their piteous lamentations on their return to civilization 
of the discomforts thej have .endured and the disappointments 
thej have suffered ; but thej have mostly given up trying to 
be woodsmen and wood nymphs, and have abandoned the 
Adirondacks to those who can appreciate and enjoy them; 
the experienced and sensible lovers of Nature in her wildest 
moods, and of the free life of the forest. The range of moun- 
tains known as the Adirondacks extends from the north-east 
corner of New Yoi-k State, in a south south-westerly direc- 
tion, occupying portions of Clinton, Essex, Frankliii, and 
Hamilton Counties. It finds its greatest elevations in the 
western part of Essex County, which contains the highest 
peaks of the Northern Appalachian Chain, Mount Washington 
alone excepted The sources of some of the streams which 
flow in dift'erent directions are often connected with each 
other, many of the lakes and ponds lying on the same plane. 
Most of these bodies of water vary in height above the sea- 
level from 1500 feet to 1731 feet, the latter being the elevation 
of Raquette Lake. The mountains are well covered with trees, 
— birch, beech, maple, ash, hemlock, spruce, fir, ^cedar, and 
white pine, in the higher lands, and along the courses of the 
streams almost impenetrable thickets of tamarack, hemlock, 
and cedar. The pine affords the most valuable timber, which 
is run down the various streams in the time of the spring- 
freshets. Masses of magnetic iron ore of enormous extent 
have been found, which have led to the establishing of smelt- 
ing works. The tour usually made by the casual visitor em- 
braces the St. Regis and Saranac Lakes, with Paul Smith's 
and Martin's as the central points. The St. Eegis lakes are 
the northermost of the chain which lies to the west of the 
mountain range. Taking an early breakfast at Fouquet's we 
take the train on the Whitehall and Plattsburgh Kailroad, 
from the depot near the hotel, and proceed southwest twenty 
miles to Ausable Station,, on the river of the same name, 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK 1 73 

whence Concord coaches convej us three miles over a plank 
road to Ausable Forks, an iron raining and smelting village, 
with two small taverns, a telegraph office and a few stores. 
Here the north branch of the Ausable River, fed by Lake 
Placid and other ponds, joins the south branch flowing up 
from the Ausable Ponds, and the shallow, brawling stream, 
thence pursues a northeastern course till it passes through the 
marvellous Chasm, and empties into Lake Champlain. From 
Ausable Forks to Franklin Falls is 17 miles of hard mountain 
staging, and at the last named place, passengers stop for din- 
ner. The plank road ceases here, and the rest of the journey 
is made in light mountain wagons, over roads which will 
compare favorably with country roads elsewhere. Our course 
is nearly due west, and we pass through the neat little post 
village of Bloomingdale, eight miles from Franklin Falls, 
whence we may take our choice of roads — to Smith's 10 miles, 
to Martin's 10 miles, and to Cox's 15 miles. We will take the 
first-named route, and after traversing what seems to us fully 
thirty miles of road, much of it recently cut through the vir- 
gin forest, but in very good condition, and accompanied all 
the way by a telegraph line, we shall be deposited on the long 
piazza at " Paul Smith's " tired enough to be contented with 
the most uncomfortable quarters, and hungry enough to de- 
vour without question the least inviting of fare. 

Paul Smith's and Its Luxuries. 

But our heroism will not be put to any very severe test. 
Those who have paid previous visits here know, and all who 
come here for the first time are lost in wonder at discovering 
that rooms as airy and large, beds as comfortable, table linen 
as snowy, silver as bright and viands incomparably better 
than those of the fashionable watering-place hotels are here 
to be found. A supper of lake trout, venison steak, wafiles 
and honey, with excellent tea or coffee, in Paul Smith's cool, 
airy dining room, and a night's sleep in one of his large, clean 
chambers, are calculated to make the vayfaring man feel at 



174 TOUBISTS' HANDBOOK, 

peace with himself and with all mankind. ApoUos A. Smith, 
whom everybody calls " Pol " or " Paul " for short, is one of 
the oldest and best known of Adirondack landlords. He 
settled here in I861 on the shores of the Lower St. Riges, 
and soon his quiet cottage became locally famous as a resting- 
place and headquarters for sportsmen who penetrated the 
North Woods. The region grew famous, and Paul, having 
that born instinct which alone can make a successful hotel- 
keeper, enlarged his borders from time to time till now he 
has a fine three-story house with accommodations for 100 
guests, large stables for his own horses and those of guests 
who come in their own turnouts, and a big boat house on the 
sandy lake beach, a few rods from the house. In this last 
building a hundred of the light, graceful and staunch boats in 
universal use on these waters are " pigeon-holed," with sterns 
to the water, reminding one of the scene in " Lucrezia 
Borgia," where that estimable lady displays her facilities in 
the amateur undertaking business. These boats are all ident- 
ical in size and build, are numbered from i up, and resemble 
very much the famous Whitehall boats, except that they are 
lighter. From the boat house to the water's edge a sloping 
platform of plank enables the rower to slide his boat out of 
water. About the boat house and the stables, will be seen a 
number of men in rough serviceable garb, many of them 
young, and all straight as Indians and almost as brown ; with 
athletic frames, brawny hands and open, frank countenances ; 
these are the guides. They may be engaged for the service 
of parties desiring to camp in the woods or on the ponds in 
the vicinity, for fishing and hunting purposes, or to convey 
parties down the lakes to Martin's, Bartlett's, Cox's or else- 
where. A finer set of fellows one need not seek, if he but 
respect their stvirdy independence and follow out the Golden 
Rule in his treatment of them. By far the pleasantest way 
of reaching the points envmierated above, is by boat through 
the lakes, though the stages make daily trips. To gain the 
best idea of this wonderful region we will take to the boats. 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 175 

A Boat T, ip Through, the Lake. 

We will take with us only a light travelling bag each, with 
a change of clothing and toilet articles. We shall have pro- 
vided ourselves with some old clothes, the ladies with flannel 
or waterproof travelling suits; the men with tweed or other 
stout clothing, flannel shirts, and all with thick boots or shoes. 
Thus equipped, with the addition of the necessary guns and fish- 
ing tackle, we are ready to set out. The guides will provide 
boats and oars, yokes to cany the boats over the portages, 
and the necessary strength and experience for managing them. 
Setting out from Paul Smith's, we pull across the lower St. 
Regis, southwardly, to its outlet, abroad, deep creek, through 
which we glide, amid the fragrance-laden waterlilies, which 
almost impede our p.- ogress, so plenfeiful are they; past the 
pine-crowned points and the tamarack-skirted lowlands, out 
into Spitfire pond, whose waves are gaily dancing in the 
morning light, to the rustling music of a fresh breeze. Cross- 
ing this small but sprightly body of water, our boats glide 
through a narrow creek to the St. Regis Lake, a beautiful 
sheet, which gives its name to this entire northern chain. 
When we touch its southern shore, our guides leap out and 
drag the boats a--hore. There is a " carry" or portage of a mile 
and a half, by a crcioked trail, through a dense wood. Formerly 
the guides carried the boats by means of the yokes, which 
resemble those used by majile sugar makers to carry the 
buckets of sap, but now the boats are dragged by horse-power, 
on a kind ot big sled or jumper, by which means " old San- 
guemaire," a French half-breed, living on the southern side 
of the carry, earns an honest livelihood, We trudge through 
the wo' ds, perhaps bagging a squirrel or two by the way, and 
again launch our skiff's on the wuters of Big Clear Lake, and 
pull southward across its dancing waters. Soon we drift into 
its outlet, a broad quiet creek, now deep and sluggish, by 
reason of a mill dam below, which soon compels our guides 
to shoulder and carry the boats around it. As they march off 



176 TOURISTS^ HANJDBOOiC. 

in single file, with the boats on their backs, bottom up, they 
look oddlj like huge mud turtles. Launching again, below 
the mill, we soon emerge from the winding stream, into the 
upper Saranac Lake, the largest and finest of the chain. We 
pull across its clear and lively waters to the western shore, 
where near the head, stands Cox's Upper Saranac Lake House, 
a fine new structure, with rooms for 100 guests, and a table 
supplied with the best of forest cheer. Here we shall find it 
convenient and expedient to dine, before attacking the eight 
mile pull down the Upper Saranac Lake. We start afresh 
after dinner, and traverse the length of the beautiful lake. ; past 
shores of bold, precipitous rock, fringed with evergreens; past 
sailing loons, whose slim necks alone emerge from the waves, 
and at which we fire and don't hit, ; past bays and creeks, and all 
the beauties of lake anc> mountain scenery, and emerge into 
the Saranac river, the outlet of this lake, and soon reach Bart- 
lett's Sportman's Home, a long, rambling house, chiefiy piazza, 
where a smoking supper and a night's rest awaits us. The 
river falls some 60 feet here, so in the morning our boats 
are carried around and we again start down the Saranac 
River, and float out upon Round Lake, a lovely sheet of 
water, smooth and clear as glass in the early morning, but 
apt to be fretted by winds later in the day. Our course 
changes here, and we pull across this lake, some four miles, 
in a northerly direction, and again follow the course of the 
Saranac river, 3 miles to the Lower lake of the same name. On 
the way we shoot arapidofeightfeetfall, if we are brave enough 
to stay in our boats and try it ; if not, we walk around and 
see the guides do it. If we choose to stop and "drop a line" 
here, we shall be quite likely to catch some fine trout in these 
rapids. As we enter the Lower Saranac Lake, Ampersand 
Mountain looms on our right, south of the lake, and Saranac 
mountain on our left, West ; straight ahead, but afar off, old 
Whiteface towers aloft, and in the distance, to our right, we 
get occasional glimpses of Mounts Seward and Marcy. Amper- 
sand mountain may be ascended, if we care for a three hours' 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. ^^>, 

climb, and the view from its summit (embracing the lakes we 
have traversed, as well as Long Lake, to the South, and the 
Tupper Lakes to the West, the mountain peaks far and near 
the Saranac valley, and the beautiful and sequestered Amper- 
sand Pond, to the south of the mountain) is worthy the ex- 
ertion. We are now passing a frowning wall of rock, rising 
150 feet perpendicularly out of the water, and wooded at the 
top, and soon we see a guideboard bearing the words "Jacob's 
Well." Here is a splendid living spring of pure sweet water, 
very refreshing to our throats, after our lively rowing. Hence 
we lay our course down the lake, six miles in length, to 
Martin's. This lake is diversified, and most beautifully, too, 
by over 50 islands, of which Eagle Island is the largest. We 
skim lightly by the rocky headlands, and the tree-studded 
islets, and in due time we draw alongside the little wharf in 
a beautiful bay at the northeastern extremity of the lake, and 
directly in front of Martin's Saranac Lake House. Here we 
meet cordial welcome from William F. Martin, one of the very 
best fellows in this wilderness, and who, by his enterprise and 
courtesy has reared, from the beginning made in 1S49, ^ house 
of three stories, accommodating 200 guests, and just as com- 
fortable and well kept as any other hotel in this vale of tears. 
Martin is a thorough woodsman and a genial host, and it is a 
treat to sit on his piazza of an evening, looking out across the 
lake, and listening to hi^ stories of the early days of hotel 
keeping in the Adirondacks, 

Martin's, as has been stated, is about the same distance from 
Plattsburg as Paul Smith's — 37 miles — and is frequently 
taken as the point of departure for the tour of the lakes, instead 
of Smith's ; in which case the route we have passed over will be 
reversed. The tourists who propose to visit Tupper, Long and 
Raquette Lakes, Mounts Seward and Marcy, and the Indian 
Pass, generally make Martin's their rendezvous, and start 
thence with their guides and supplies up the Saranac Lake. 
Martin's being on the regular stage road and having mail and 
telegraphic facilities, the same as those at Smith's, is in 
every way a desirable headquarters. 
8* 



1^8 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

A "Visit to the Soutliern Lakes. 

A reference to the map will show in the southwestern por- 
tion of the Adirondack region, a cluster of large lakes con- 
nected by the Raquette river. These are the Tupper Lakes, 
Big and Little, Long Lake, Forked Lake, Raquette Lake and 
a little chain of small ponds leading from the last named and 
terminating in Blue Mountain Lake. The tour of all these 
lakes is made from Martin's by two routes, one leading west 
to the Tupper Lakes, and the other south to the Raquette, 
Long and Forked Lake chain. Taking the western route 
first, we proceed up the lake and across Round Lake to 
Bartlett's ; thence two miles west to the old " Sweeney Caiy " • 
now operated by the Daniels Brothers, who haul our boats 
across a neck of land three miles wide, and lavmch them in 
the Raquette river. Eleven miles of tortuous gliding bring 
us to the ovitlet of Big Tupper Lake, where Martin Moody, an 
old guide, has built a house with accommodations for fifty 
guests, and has a large congregation of sportsmen each sum- 
mer. 

Big Tupper Lake. 

This is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by ridges of 
mountains and by primeval forests ; stretching away seven 
miles to the south and spreading ovit from one to three miles 
wide, dotted with islands, bordered by beautiful bays with 
green valleys rising from their heads, and with all the placid 
serenity that marks the quiet of this great wilderness. On 
Bluff Island, in the northeastern part of the lake, is a precipice 
overhanging the water, known as the Devil's Pulpit; and at 
the head of the lake, Bog river makes its way to the lower 
level by a fall resembling a sheet of silver, over a rocky ledge. 
From Big Tupper, a seldom ti-aversed route leads south, 
through Round Pond, to Little Tupper Lake, which is six 
miles long, with high, rocky shores, numerous islands and 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 79 

beautiful scenery. The Wolf Pond route, so called, passss 
from the outlet of Big Tupper, by a sweeping curve to the 
northeast, to Cox's on Upper Saranac Lake, thirty miles dis- 
tant, by way of a chain of small ponds. From the same 
point a twenty mile trip, including eight miles of carries^ 
brings us to Cranberry Lake, one of the largest of the whole 
region, being fifteen miles long and discharging through the 
Oswegatchie river, and another trip of fifteen miles brings to 
the most desolate and lonesome (but most prolific in game) 
of these waters, Mud Lake. It is seven miles south of Cran- 
berry Lake, and is but four miles in circumference. Still 
another route is through Little Tupper and a chain of ponds to 
Long Lake. The usual route to Long, Forked and Raquette 
lakes, however, lies south from Martin's via Saranac and 
Round lakes to Bartlett's, thence by the Indian Carry of 
one mile to the Stony Creek ponds, three in number, con- 
nected by narrow passages, and thence through Stony Creek, 
a narrow, tortuous stream, for three miles to its outlet into the 
Raquette river, twenty miles above Tupper Lake. A striking 
panorama of woodland scenery is presented as we ascend the 
river to Raquette's Falls, six miles, where is a carry of a mile 
and a quarter, and where stands "Mother Johnson's, "renowned 
for pancakes, and noted in every tourist's description. The 
old lady herself, after entertaining thousands of guests during 
her stay in the quaint old log cabin, and gaining a fame 
excelled by no one in the region, died in the early spring of 
1871^, and her body was tenderly carried by the guides some 
thirty miles down the Raquette and laid to rest. 

Long Lake and Its Scenery. 

Six miles more pulling bring us to the foot or northern ex- 
tremity of Long Lake, which is simply a widening of the 
Raquette river, or else the river is simply the thread on which 
Long Lake is strung. It is a handsome body of water, four- 
teen miles long and a mile wide at its widest point. It has 



l80 rOliUlSTS' HAND BOO IC. 

several islands, one of which supports a small inn, owned by 
John Davies, who also keeps the famous "Aunt Pollj" 
tavern at Newcomb, thirteen miles southeast. He maintains 
communication between the two houses, bj a romantic forest 
route, through five small ponds and Catlin Lake, a body of 
water three miles long, and famous for its camping grounds. 
Long Lake is surrounded by mountains. Owl's Head, Mount 
Kempshall, Buck Mountain and Blueberry Mountain, and on 
the east bank, three and a half miles from the head or south- 
ern end, is Long Lake Village, or " Gouge ville," where is 
Kellogg's famous hostelry, and where several families of noted 
guides reside. There is a little church, a school-house, a 
store and post-office here, and many visitors to the Raquette 
region make their headquarters at Kellogg's. Round Island 
lies about midway of the lake, and is a beautiful little gem of 
living green. Little Tupper Lake is reached from Kellogg's 
by a tedious route of lo or 12 miles, which passes through 
Slim and Mud Ponds, and consumes a whole day. Owl's 
Head Mountain is ascended by the aid of guides, and a fine 
view is obtained from its summit. Near Kellogg's is a float- 
ing bridge across the lake, and beneath a portion of it is 
passage for boats. Four miles from the village, the head of 
the lake is reached, and here the Raquette river enters it, over 
rapids necessitating a half-mile carry. Then it is fair paddling 
again for a mile up stream to Buttermilk Falls, which are 
generally considered the original of Murray's Phantom Falls. 
The descent is about 20 feet, over a rugged ledge, with bould- 
ers which churn the water into a froth. A short carry here, 
then a mile and a half of boating, another carry of a mile 
and a half, and we reach Forked Lake. This expansion of 
the Raquette river is an irregular and very romantic pond, 
three miles long, with wooded shores and some fii)^ scenery. 
]t boasts an attachment, Little Forked Lake, through which, 
and a string of ponds with intervening carries, a twelve-mile 
route to Little Tupper lies. This whole country is so filled 
with lakes and ponds that you can go anywhere you choose 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. l8l 

with a boat, alternately carrying the boat and having the boat 
carry you. 

Kaquette Lake and its Tributaries. 

Erom this body of water a half-mile portage brings us to 
Raquette Lake, twelve miles long and from one to five miles 
wide ; one of the most beautiful of the Adirondack waters, 
and destined to be the favorite, when hotels and other pro- 
ducts of civilization shall shed their ameliorating illumination 
upon its dark waters, so to speak. Meantime, only enthusi- 
astic sportsmen and hardy tourists find their way hither. 
Gary's Hotel, a rude and small house, is the only hotel on the 
lake, and nearly every one who coines hither camps out. 
Beach's Island, a beautifully wooded and symmetrical islet; 
Murray's Island, the camping ground of the celebrated preach- 
er, and the numerous points which project from the shores 
are used for camping. The old State road from Crown Point 
to Carthage, which was formerly a travelled way through this 
region, passes Gary's, and it is only 14 miles to Long Lake 
Village, but of late years it is seldom used, and has degener- 
ated into a mere trail. The lake is surrounded by pictur- 
esque mountains, and is deeply embayed on nearly every 
side ; IVCarryatt's Baj^, Eagle Bay, North Bay and South Bay 
being the principal arms of the lake. Little Tupper Lake is 
accessible from Raquette also, by an i§ mile route embracing 
Beach's and Salmon Lakes and two or three carries. Shallow 
Lake, reached by an inlet from the west shore, and a group of 
neighboring ponds are famous retreats for trout. 

The John Brown Tract. 

A pull of four miles up the Brown Tract Inlet, from the 
south-west point of Raquette Lake, and a carry of a mile and 
a half bring us to the upper or eighth of the Fulton chain of 
lakes, which extend southwesterly into the "John Brown 
Tract," so-called. The ardent hunter, wlio has not yet gained 
enough experience of the lakes and mountains, follows this 



1 82 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

route, which brings him into the Eighth Lake first, passes bj 
portage to the Seventh, and can go directly by boating into 
the Sixth. The Sixth and Fifth are quite small ; and there is 
a portage between Sixth and Fifth, and also one between 
Fifth and Fourth. Fourth Lake is the largest of the chain, 
and has .a number of islands in it. The shores are high, and 
rise in rapid ascents. Hemlock grows down to the edge of 
the water; and in the undisturbed repose of the waters the 
fringes of foliage are clearly reflected. In the centre of the 
lake is a beautiful group of rocks known as Elba. There is a 
passage for boats into Third Lake, close by which Bald Motin- 
tain frowns down ; and the passage continues open to Second 
Lake. Second is hardly distinguishable from First, there be. 
ing a mere sand-bar separating them. The Adirondack Kail- 
road will pass just north of these lakes. 

The southwestern part of the Adirondack region, known as 
the John Brown Tract, reaches into Lewis and Hamilton 
counties, but is mostly included in Herkimer county. In 
area it is about twenty miles square, and is supposed by many 
to take its name from the hero of North Elba, but such is not 
the fact. John Brown was a merchant of Providence, R. I., 
and coming hither in 1792, bought this tract, which he divided 
into eight townships named Industry, Enterprise, Persever- 
ance, Unanimity, Frugality, Sobriety, Economy and Regular- 
ity. In 1812, Brown's nephew, Charles Herreshoff, tried to 
found colonies in these model townships, and incurred great 
expenses for clearings, mills, etc. A large number of people 
from the seaboard attempted a permanent settlement, but 
many discouragements appeared to thwart them; work upon 
the tract was abandoned ; Herreshofl;' suicided after a seven 
years' struggle with fate, and the solitude of the unbroken 
wilderness again resumed its sway. This section is only 
visited by hunters and fishermen, and they succeed in their 
designs upon the game and the fish. 

The Eckford Chain of Lakes. 

But after this long digression, we must get back to Raquette 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 83 

Lake, whence, bj the Marion river, the principal feeder of the 
lake, we make our way through Utowanna and Eagle Lakes, to 
Blue Mountain Lake, the gem of the southern Adirondack 
waters. Austin's Hotel, between Eagle and Blue Mountain 
lakes, is a favorite resort of sportsmen, and " Ned Buntline" 
(E. Z. C. Judson), has a lodge on the shore of the former. 
These pretty lakelets, the Eckford chain, as thej are some- 
times called, are the headwaters of the Raquette, and 'Mount 
Emmons, or Blue Mountain, which overlooks the lake bear- 
ing its name, is ascended by a trail on its western slope. It 
is 3,595 feet high, and its summit having been cleared of trees 
during the State survey of 1873, a magnificent panorama is 
spread out before the visitor who stands on its top. Blue 
Mountain Lake, by the route we have come, is fifty-five miles 
from Kellogg's, but as we have described a deep loop in onr 
journey, only five miles separates us from Kellogg's now. 
The mountain divide and South Pond, with a mile's portage 
are the obstacles. The mountain trail is arduous, but the 
guides often attempt it in preference to going back. 

The Southern Adirondacks. 

From Long Lake Village a weekly mail stage or private 
conveyance may be taken for a trip to the deserted Adirondack 
iron works. Mount Marcy and the Indian Pass. The State 
military road, previously mentioned, runs due east almost for 
forty-two miles, along a route alternating mountain, forest 
and lake scenery, and is sufficiently rough to give any one 
a wolfish appetite every five miles, to Root's, a famous 
resort for sportmen, with accommodations for forty or fifty 
guests. Thence the roads diverge ; one to Ticonderoga, 
twenty-three miles southeast, passing Paradox Lake and 
Long Pond ; another to Crown Point, eighteen miles north- 
eabt; a third south to Schroon Lake, nine miles, and the 
fourth north to Elizabethtown, twenty-two miles. But we 
stop nineteen miles short of Root's, at Tahawus or Lower 
Works. Here the Hudson or North river, a narrow creek at 



184 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

this point, was utilized to furnish power for the iron works, 
and the dam which once spanned it flooded the valley up to 
Lake Sanford, five miles above, and barges plied between the 
Lower and the Upper Works. The road north to the Upper 
Works or Adirondack, is picturesque and full of interest. The 
distance is eleven miles, five of which are along the shores of 
the mountain-walled Lake Sanford. Reaching Adirondack, 
a scene rarely to be witnessed in America is presented — a 
ruined village — and it was formerly a manufacturing village, 
too. The tall chimneys, the furnaces, the old school-house, 
the chuixh and the dwellings of the workmen, all are aban- 
doned. Only Moore's, a small and modest house of resort, is 
occupied. The history of this place is brief. In 1826, an In- 
dian discovered immense deposits of iron, and a dam of almost 
pui-e ore across the river at this place, and reported his find to 
Messrs. Henderson, McMartin and Mclntire who had iron 
works at North Elba. They secured the whole territory, built 
forges, furnaces and a road to Lake Champlain and began 
operations. A busy and thriving village sprung into exist- 
ence, but the venture proved unsuccessful, the cost of getting 
the iron to market being too heavy, and Mr. Henderson, the 
head of the firm, being accidently killed in 1845, the Upper 
Works were in 1848 abandoned, and the Lower Works soon 
after, since which time the villages have gone to decay. Only 
the names of the three unfortunate speculators are perpetu- 
ated in Mounts Henderson, McMartin and Mclntire, and 
Lake Henderson. The Preston Ponds lie two miles north- 
west, and six miles further in the same direction is the grand 
peak of Mount Seward, 4,348 feet high. Mount Marcy (called 
by the Indians Tahawus, the Cloud Piercer or Sky Splitter), 
the monarch of this region, towers to the height of 5,333 feet, 
to the northeast, and is ascended by a trail which necessitates 
twelve miles of arduous climbing. The ascent can only be 
made by strong and indomitable climbers, by the aid of 
guides. Six miles from Adirondack, Lake Golden, a moun- 
tain embosomed pond, 2,851 feet above the tide is reached, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK 185 

and from it foams and dashes the Opalescent river. Far up 
the gorge of the same name is seen Gray Peak, on which is 
Summit- Water, a clean pond 4,293 feet above the sea, whence 
flows the sti earn which afterwards becomes the mighty Hud- 
son. One mile beyond Lake Colden is Avalanche Lake, sur- 
rounded by mountain peaks, and soon the slopes of Tahawus 
tower above us. A steady climb brings us to the summit, 
whence the descent may be made to Keeene on the east side 
of the mountains. 

The Adirondack, or ladian Pass. 

Contin'iing our journey northwardly from Adirondack, we 
pass thr. ugh the celebrated Adirondack or Indian Pass, a 
great gorge between Mount Wallface on the left and Mount 
Mclntire on the right. Its highest point is 2901 feet above 
the sea level, and for a mile old Wallface rises in an almos* 
perpendicular precipice over 1300 feet high. The scene is 
one of v^rild and savage magnificence. The path is rugged 
and arduous, many times crossing the mountain torrent that 
makes its way through the pass Great jagged masses of 
rock obstruct the way, and the climb upward to the ridge, or 
"divide," is enough to tax the stoutest legs and wear out the 
stoutest boots. The scene from the divide is thus graphically 
sketched by Stoddard : 

" At last we near the summit and stand on Lookout Point; 
close by rises that grand wall a thousand feet up and extend- 
ing three hundred feet below us ; reaching out north and 
south, maje tic, solemn and impi^essive in its nearness; a 
long line of gr-eat fragments have fallen, yea'r by year, from 
the cliff ab ve, and now lie at its "foot; around on everj^ side 
huge ca\^erns yawn and mighty rocks rear their heads, where 
He who rules the earthquake cast them centuries ago. Along 
back, down the gorge we look, to where, five miles away, and 
1300 feet below us, is Lake Henderson, a shining drop in the 
bottom of a great emerald bowl." 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 87 

Here we leave the head waters of the Hudson behind, and 
descending bj a route similar to that bj which we have 
climbed from Adirondack, we follow the course of the Ausa- 
ble, which takes its rise in this same notch, and passing 
through a dense forest, we reach, after five miles of tramping 
from the divide, the little hamlet of North Elba. 

Near this point is the farm of old John Brown, of Ossawot- 
tomie, the hero of Kansas and of Harper's Ferry, and the 
huge bowlder bj which he is buried, can be seen from the 
road. The farm is now the property of an association formed 
by Miss Kate Field. From this point the road runs northwest 
nine miles to Blood's, a tavern of some repute in the Saranac 
valley, and one mile further, reaches Martin's. East from 
North Elba two miles, is Scott's tavern, twelve miles further, 
over a most romantic route through a mountain pass, is 
Keene, and ten miles further is Elizabeth town, a beautiful 
village eight miles northwest of Westport, on the Boquet 
River, and encircled by mountain peaks. 

ElizabetMown and its Objects of Interest. 

This town, which lies in the centre of Essex County, is also 
reached by stage from Point of Rocks on the Ausable River. 
This is a favorite resort of quiet people, artists, ladies, and 
families who do not wish to get far from the base of home 
supplies. The hotels there are numerous, elegant, and well 
furnished, and naturally are well filled in the summer. There 
are two high summits on the west, of which the southermost 
(called the giant of the Valley) is one of the highest 
of the range. There is a perpendicular precipice on the 
north side of this, nearly 700 feet high. Five miles to the 
northwest is Hurricane Peak, a pyramid of naked rocks, 
graceful in shape, rising from a densely wooded base. Cobble 
Hill, one mile west of the village, has a precipice 200 
feet high on the east side of it. The valley of the Bo- 
quet runs eight miles south-west from Elizabethtown. At 
the head of this valley, the Boquet has a fall of 100 feet, 



iS8 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

through a narrow gorge, over an inclined plane of rough 
and broken rocks. Black Pond is one mile long and half a 
mile wide ; it is six miles south-east of the village, and well 
stored with fish. On the south-east of the town is a hill 
200 feet high, covering 40 acres, supposed to be nearly 
Ij a solid mass of iron ore. In the south-west the Ausable 
Ponds maj be visited from Elizabethtown. These ponds, two 
in number, — the Upper and Lower, — are in the south part 
of the town of Keene, in the midst of scenery bold and wild. 
Hurricane Mountain and Skylight are easily reached from 
Ausable Ponds. Deep gorges, lovely little ponds, and wild 
cascades are found in the vicinity. About one-eighth of a 
mile west of the road leading from Keene Flats to Ausable 
Ponds, are the falls of the Ausable River, known as Russell's 
Falls. Here the water darts through a crooked passage 
one-third of a mile long, , in which space it makes a de- 
scent of 150 feet, between rocky banks that rise to the 
height of 200 feet. Two miles farther up the Ausable, 
are similar falls, known as Beaver Meadow Falls. Rain- 
bow Falls are one-eighth of a mile north-west of the 
Lower Ausable Pond, and have 125 feet of perpendicular 
descent. Roaring Brook Falls, four miles east of Rainow, 
bow, consist of two separate falls, — one over a vertical 
precipice into a deep gorge, the other 250 feet along a groove 
worn into the solid rock. Chapel Pond, the source of Roar- 
ing Brook, is about a mile east of Roaring Brook Falls, in 
a deep ravine between the Ausable and Boquet Rivers. 

Lake Placid and the "Wilmington Pass. 

From North Elba nearly every sojourner pays a visit to 
Lake Placid, one of the loveliest of mountain lakes, lying 
high vip among the peaks which circle it on every side. It 
lies two miles north of the village, and is five miles long by 
two wide. Three islands nearly divide it midway, and Mount 
Whiteface overlooks it on the northeast. Sugar Loaf towers 
on the west in dark, stern ridges, and tall peaks stand senti- 



I go TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

nels on the east. Near its southern shore stand the large 
boarding houses of Nash and Brewster, with acconiinodations 
for froin 60 to 80 guests, and fishern:ien find in its clear depths 
ample rewards for " dropping a line." 

The Wilmington Pass or Notch is the local title of the nar- 
row vallej through which the Ausable pours the waters of its 
west fork, which takes its rise in Lake Placid, and through 
which the carriage road from Wilmington to North Elba, 
twelve miles, has been constructed with immense labor and 
at great expense. The i^cenerj in the pass is of wild and 
savage magnificence. The carriage-road is cut into the bank 
on tht^ right side of the Ausable River ; and above it tower, 
hundreds of feet, the rugged and perj)endicular rocks. Across 
the river looms up old White face, its cloud-capped peak 4200 
feet above the sea, and i s sides clothed with evergreen for a 
great part of its heiglit Midway of the notch are the cele- 
brated Wilmington Falls, one i.undred feet high, pouring over 
a precipice of eternal rock in a feathery cloud; witli a roar 
like that of Niagara. A difFicuit and peril .us climb down 
the walls of the gorge to the foot of the fa Is, is rewarded by 
a sight of their savage magnificence which is indescribably 
grand. A short distLince below is the Flume, where the 
waters, compressed into a r. arrow space b tween high and 
smoothly worn walls of rock, rush with lightning rapidity 
down a steep incline; and all the way, the road, clinging to 
the mountain side, presents at each turn some new exhibition 
of Nature's power. Emerging from the pass, the peaceful, 
broad, and fertile valley of the Ausable stretches away for 
miles in the distance ; and at our feet lies the little village of 
Wilmington. The Whiteface Mountain House, a cozy, home- 
like structure, with facilities for entertaining half a hundred 
guests, is the only hostelry and here nearly every one stops 
who proposes to ascend old Whiteface. 

The Ascent of Whiteface.! 

From this House, a carriage road ascends the mountain on 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



191 



its northeast side two miles ; then a rugged bridle path is 
traversed on horseback four miles to the summit. Three 
quarters of a mile from the top is a rude hut, where quarters 
maj be had for the night, if one desire to see the sunrise from 
the peak. The mountain is 4918 feet high, and is named 
from the fact that a landslide years ago laid bare its whitish- 
graj rocks near the summit. The ascent is attended with a 
good deal of difliculty, but is perfectly safe and often made by 
ladies, who find the Turkish costume specially convenient, as 
they have to follow the fashion of the men, and ride on both 
sides of the animal. The view from the summit is of sur- 
passing grandeur, overlooking a vast territory broken by 
mountain peaks, among which shine the glassy surfaces of 
over sixty lakes and ponds. The Giant of the Valley, Marcy, 
Wallface, Mclntire, Sugar Loaf and Seward are easily dis- 
tinguished ; Lake Placid nestles close to the mountain's foot, 
and afar off to the west can be seen the Saranac Lakes. To 
the east is the broad expanse of Lake Champlain, and beyond, 
in the dim distance, the outlines of the Green Mountains 
appear. 

From Wilmington, we resume our journey northeast 
through Jay and Ausable Forks, to Ausable station, where 
we board the train for Plattsbui-gh. Or we may drive 24 
miles over the plank-road to Port Kent, where we take the 
steamer for Plattsburgh. 




CHAPTER IX. 



Routes to Montreal. 

ROM several points on our route thus far, the 
tourist who desires to visit Montreal, a'nd the 
Canadian resorts, will find direct communi- 
cation. From Boston i here are several routes 
of nearly equal directness and advantages. 
We may journey to Rutland, as already de- 
scribed, and thence via Burlington. ISt. Albans, 
and St. John's to Montreal, or from Bellows 
Falls through White River Junction, Mont- 
pelier, Essex Junction, St. Albans, and St. 
John's to Montreal, or we may take the 
Boston, Lowell and Nashua Railroad, through Lowell, Nashua 
and Manchester to Concord, N. IL, or the Boston and Maine 
Railroad via Lawrence and Manchester to Conco d ; and from 
the last named city, several divergent routes, all leading 
to Montreal, lie before us. 




Via Lowell and Manchester. 



Taking the morning train from the n:iagnificent Passenger 
Station of the Boston, Lowell and Nashua Railroad, on Cause- 
way street, we are soon rolling out of the city, across one of 

the n;:any spile bridges that " spile " the beauty of the Charles 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 1 93 

River near the city, while thej serve to connect Boston with 
the continent north and to increase its material prosperity. 
We pass the Bunker Hill district, with its cosej and homelike 
State Prison at our right; Somerville, with its several small 
and scattered villages, and its imposing McLean Insane Hos- 
pital ; Medford, famous for New England rum, for the Mystic 
Racing Park near the railroad, and for Tufts College, the 
handsome buildings of which are in plain sight, on the lofty 
hill overlooking the track on the K'ft; Winchester, famous 
for its tanneries ; East Woburn, North Woburn, Wilmington, 
Billerica and North Billerica, and cross the Concord river to 
Lowell. This great spindle city, 26 miles from Boston, is 
known wherever cotton cloth is worn. The va-t power of the 
Merrimack river, which here descends t^t, feet, over what were 
formerly known as Pawtucket Falls, is utilized by the canal, 
originally built for navigation, which connects with the Con- 
cord river below. Along this canal and upon the Merrimack 
and Concord rivers, stand long lines of huge factories, com- 
prising the mills of the Lawrence, Tremont, Suffolk, Merri- 
mack, Boott, Massachusetts, Middlesex, Prescott, Appleton, 
Hamilton and other corporations, besides the print and carpet 
factories. There are about 70 mills in all, employing about 
I, OCX) women and half as many men, and some idea of the 
vast production may be gained from the fact that the Merri- 
mack Mills alone turn out 12,000 miles of cotton cloth per 
annum. The operatives are mostly Irish, Nova Scotians and 
French Canadians. Bc-sides the mills, a vast number of other 
profitable industries aid the wealth of the city. From Lowell, 
our route lies along the Merrimack river. Middlesex, at the 
head of the Old Middlesex canal, to Boston, completed in 
1808 at a cost of $528,000, but abandoned since the era of 
railways, is passed; then North Chelmsford and Tyngsboro'; 
then we cross the New Hampshire line to the city of Nashua, 
40 miles from Boston, which stands on both sides the Nashua 
river, a tributary of the Merrimack and the source of power 
for the various mills. Nashua is a city of over 10,000 in- 
9 



194 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

habitants, which has grown since 1823, when the Nashua 
Manufacturing Company was chartered. Following the river 
Merrimack still, but over the line of the Concord Railroad, 
passing various rural stations, we reach Manchester, the 
largest citj in the State, 57 miles from Boston, at the Amos- 
keag Falls of the Merrimack. The Blodget canal, around the 
falls, utilizing the power for the propulsion of various manu- 
factoiies. The citj has about 25,000 inhabitants and is very 
attractive in appearance, the streets being wide and hand- 
somely shaded ; several public squares are laid out and the 
houses are neat and many of them elegant. The falls, which 
have a descent of 47 feet, present a striking sight in high 
water. Lake Massabesic, four miles east of the city, is a 
favorate summer resort. Continuing our northward journey, 
we pass several little stations and enter the capitol of the 
State, the city of Concord, 75 miles from Boston, a beautiful 
town of some 15,000 inhabitants. The city stands on the 
west side of the river, to which the principal streets run 
parallel. The State Capitol fronts a small park off Main 
street, and is a stately structure of granite quarried near by. 
The City Hall, Court House, and State Insane Asylum, 
founded in 1842, are the principal public buildings. At Con- 
cord, the visitor who desires to make a stay of a few days, will 
find a pleasant stopping place at the Eagle Hotel,* John A. 
White, proprietor. This house has been enlarged, refitted 
and refurnished, and is a first-class establishment. Its loca- 
tion, opposite the Capitol, gives it the advantage in point of 
site over most other houses. 

Via Lawrence and Manchester. 

By the Boston and Maine line, leaving the commodious 
brick station in Haymarket square, Boston, our route is 
northward, across the Charles river, through one edge of the 
Bunker Hill District, Somerville, Maiden, Melrose, Stoneham, 
Greenwood, Wakefield, Wilmington, Ballardvale, Andover, 
(the seat of Phillips Academy, the Abbot Female Seminary, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 1 95 

and the famous Congregational Theological Seminary), and 
South Lawrence, -across the Merrimack and into Lawrence, 
25 miles fi'om Boston, one of the great mill cities of the 
country, and one of the three capitals of Essex Country. It 
has about 30,000 inhabitants, and both by situation and the 
wise foresight displayed in its building and ornamentation, is 
one of the handsoinest of manufacturing towns. In 1844, the 
Essex Company founded this place and built a massive stone 
dam, giving 28 feet fall, across the river. A canal, a mile long 
and 400 feet from the river, carries the water along the line of 
great mills, which stand on the strip of land between the river 
and the canal, which last thus separates the mills from the 
city. The corporation boarding houses are surrounded by a 
wide green, which gives them plenty of air and light, and a 
pleasant outlook. The streets are broad, handsomely shaded, 
and lined by many costly and elegant buildings, among which 
the City Hall, the Oliver High School, the County buildings, 
the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, 
and several other churches, are the most notable. The Common 
is a handsome large green, in the centre of the city, on which 
front several of the finest buildings, and which is shaded with 
beautiful trees. The principal factories are the Pemberton, 
Everett, Washington, Pacific, Atlantic, Arlington, Lawrence 
Woolen Company's and Russell Paper Company's Mills, em- 
ploying io,noo hands, and manufacturing millions of dollars' 
worth of goods annually. The valuation of Lawrence is 
about $20,000,000. The fearful accident in the Pemberton 
Mills, January 10, i860, when the thin and insufficient walls were 
shaken down by the motion of the machinery, and the ruins 
took fire, burning to death many of the imprisoned operatives, 
is still fresh in the memory. By this terrible disaster 325 
persons were killed and wounded. 

From Lawrence, our route lies northwest, leaving the Bos- 
ton and Maine for the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad, 
which conveys us in 70 minutes over the 26 miles of inter- 
vening distance. We pass by the way, Methuen, a flourishing 



196 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

village at the falls of the Spicket river, where hats, shoes, 
cottons, etc., are manufactured, and cross the New Hamp- 
shire line, into the quiet farming town of Salem ; thence 
through Windham, Drury and Londonderry (settled by Irish 
Presbj^terians and named after their former home ; renowned 
for patriotism in the Revolution, and for the number of com- 
manders in the continental army who were born here), we 
come to Manchester, whence our route to Concord is the same 
as already described. 

From Concord to Montreal. 

From Concord the principal lines are the Boston and Mon- 
treal Air Line, by the Boston, Concord and Montreal Rail- 
road, through Weirs and Plymouth to Wells River, thence by 
Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railway to Newport, Vt., 
thence by South Eastern Railroad to St. John's, thence by Grand 
Trunk Railway to Montreal; the Central Vermont line, via 
White River Junction, Montpelier and St. Albans; or by the 
Northern Railroad to White River Junction, Connecticut and 
Passumpsic Rivers Railroad to Wells River, Montpelier and 
Wells River Railroad to Montpelier, thence by the Central 
Vermont line; or by Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad, 
through Weirs, Wells River, Littleton and Lancaster (with 
views of the White Mountains) to Northumberland, and 
thence by Grand Trunk Railway through Richmond Junction 
and St. Lambert to Montreal. This last is the longest and 
most tedious of the routes, but gives one an opportunity to 
see a good deal of the mountains and the country generally. 

The Air Line Route. 

By the first mentioned or Air Line route, we cross the 
Merrimack River, and pass through Canterbury, 82 miles 
from Boston, where is the seat of a flourishing Shaker 
community, whose good works (in the form of apple sauce 
and garden seeds), are known the country over; through 
Tilton (the seat of the New Hampshire Seminary and Female 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. I97 

College), to the shores of the beautiful Lake Winnepiseogee 
along which we skirt. Laconia has extensive manufactories 
of cloths, hosiery and railroad cars, and is extensively popu- 
lated in the Summer by people from the cities, who find ac- 
commodations at the Willard House, and the various board- 
ing houses and farm houses in the vicinity. Laconia is 
situated on the shores of Great Bay, also called Lake Winni- 
squam, a picturesque and extensive sheet of water, and is the 
point of departure for the ascent of Mount Belknap, four 
miles distant. This mountain, commanding from its summit 
a view of nearly the entire lake, is in sight from the car win- 
dows for several miles. Lake Village, on the shore of San- 
bornton Bay, is a thriving place, with several lumber and 
paper mills. A small steamer runs in Summer between this 
"port" and Alton Bay. We now skirt the shores of Long 
Bay, and stop at Weirs, 105 miles from Boston, where we gain 
a magnificent view up the Lake, and where if we choose, we 
may take the steamer for Alton Bay, Wohboro and Centre 
Harbor. 

A Tour of Lake Winnipiseogee. 

Winnipiseogee, (spelt also Winnepesaukee), is an Indian 
word, variously interpreted to mean, "The Smile of the 
Great Spirit," and Pleasant Water in a High Place." Which- 
ever be the correct version, either is applicable to this pure, 
clear, and wonderfully beautiful mountain lake. Edward 
Everett wrote of this trip to a friend : — 

" I have been something of a traveller in our own country 
— though less than I could wish — and in Europe have seen 
all that is most attractive, from the Highlands of Scotland to 
the Golden Horn of Constantinople ; from the summit of the 
Hartz Mountains to the Fountain of Vaucluse, but my eye 
has yet to rest on a lovelier scene than that which smiles 
around you as you sail from Weir's Landing to Centre 
Harbor." 

Starr King wrote : — 

" Looking up to the broken sides of the Ossipee Mountains 
that are rooted in the lake, over which huge shadows loiter ; 



198 TOURISTS' SAND BOOK. 

or back to the twin Belknap Hills, which appeal to softer sen- 
sibilities with their verdured symmetry; or farther down vipon 
the charming succession of mounds that hem the shores near 
Wolfboro'; or northward, where distant Chocorua lifts his 
bleached head, so tenderly touched now with gray and gold, 
to defy the hottest sunlight, as he has defied for ages the 
lightning and the storm, — does it not seem as though the 
passage in the Psalms is fulfilled before our eyes, — ' Out of 
the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.' " 

This magnificent lake, the liquid gem of the Switzerland of 
America, is 25 miles long by 7 miles wide, at the widest, and 
contains 69 square miles. It is situated in Carroll and Bel- 
knap Counties, New Hampshire, and bordered by eight town- 
ships. Its shores are very irregular, expanding on every 
side into deeply indented bays, while some 300 islands break 
its surface. Long Island, far out in the lake, nearly opposite 
Weirs, and Diamond Island, severalmiles southeast, have small 
hotels, which are much visited by excursion parties. Taking 
the steamer Lady of the Lake, or Mount Washington, at 
Weirs, our course lies through a tortuous water path, between 
green and romantic islands, out upon the sparkling bosom of 
the lake. We turn to the left and gain a magnificent view, 
which fills every heart with rapture. Far away before us 
loom the Sandwich Mountains, in a long rank of sentinel 
peaks, the Ossipee Mountains furthest to our right, and grim 
Chocorua towering above and beyond them ; then White- 
face, and to our left, Red Hill. We steam up the beautiful 
Northwest bay, betw< en shores clothed in green, and fringed 
with trees, to Centre Harbor, a village of half a thousand per- 
manent inhabitants, and as many more transient visitors in 
the season, where the Senter House, a large and pleasant 
hotel, and several smaller hostelries provide for the wants of 
the guests. From Centre Harbor there are several pleasant 
drives; to Red Hill, four miles of carriage road and two miles 
of bridle path to the summit, 2,000 feet high, whence the view 
is grand enough to repay ten times the exertion of climbing 
hither. Far away, on the northwestern horizon, rises the 
sharp, rocky cone of Chocorua ; towards the north, the Sand- 



Tourists' handbooi^. 199 

wich range, with Bald Knob and Whiteface as its western 
outposts ; to the north and northwest, the Squam Mountains ; 
to the west Squam Lake, with its placid waters and its silvery 
beaches ; to the southwest, 30 miles awaj, is Mount Kearsarge ; 
to the south stretches the winding shore of the lake, with its 
beautiful islands, and beyond rise the twin peaks of Mount 
Belknap ; while far awaj^to the southwest, stretches one of the 
loveliest water panoramas on earth, backed by the domes of 
Copple Crown and Tumble-Down-Dick. 

Down the Lake to "Wclfboro'. 

Leaving Centre Harbor for the trip down the lake, we steer 
southeast, leaving the Ossipee Mountains on our left, and 
threading our way through a labyrinth of islands for several 
miles. Emerging at length into the clear water of the centre 
of the lake, we cast our eyes to the eastward, where forty 
miles away Mount Washington's majestic peak, throned on 
the hills, towers above his satellites. Further on we gain 
shifting views of one after another of the magnificent peaks, 
while on the southern border of the lake. Mount Belknap 
rises before us as we advance. A sail of twenty miles brings 
us to Wolfboro, on the bay of the same name, a village of 
some thousands of inhabitants, with several hotels, banks and 
stores, lumber mills and a railroad station. Here the Wolf- 
boro Branch of the Eastern Railroad has its terminus, and 
hence, if we choose, we can take the Pullman cars and speedily 
be transported through a charming country to Portsmouth, 
N.H., and thence to Boston, 106 miles, in less than five hours. 

But we are not ready for so speedy a return, and can afford 
to enjoy for a time the delights of Wolfboro. The village is 
beautifully located on the lakeside slopes of two gently rising 
hills, separated by a millstream, and from almost every point 
fine views across the lake, with the majestic peaks of Belknap 
for a background, can be had. The Pavilion Hotel has a 
most sightly location, and during the season its broad veran- 
dahs and cool pai-lors are alive with city folk. Just by its 



20O TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

side, embowered in trees, stands the Belvufe, a quiet and home- 
like little house, much favored by modest and quiet people, 
and across the street, overlooking the lake, the steamboat 
landing and the railway station, and within a few rods of each, 
stands the Glendon House, a new and spacious hotels with all 
the modern improvements. From either house boats are fur- 
nished for sailing -und fishing on the lake, and teams for the 
many beautiful and romantic drives, as well as for the ascent 
of Copple Crown Mountain, 5 miles distant and 2100 feet 
high. From its summit the lake is visible for nearly its 
entire length, while Mounts Belknap, Ossipee, Chocorua, and 
Washington are the principal peaks in sight. In a clear day 
a view of the ocean is obtained. "Tumble-down Dick" is a 
neighboring and somewhat smaller mountain of singular for- 
mation, and is also often ascended. The Devil's Den, a nar- 
row, black cave, among the rocks of a lofty hill a few miles 
away, is visited by active climbers, and there are many de- 
lightful short drives in the vicinity. But the great joys of 
the place are the sails and rows upon the lake, and picnic par- 
ties upon some of the many islands within easy distance. An 
apt poetical description, by Nathan D. Urner, of the pleasures 
of picnicing, tells the story of a day's sport in this line : 

A leafy island, bowered by tall trees, 

A cove of silver, hushed from the far breakers ; 
A shallop, slanting shoreward with the breeze. 
Brimful of merrymakers. 

The grating keel, the boat-stake nicelj missed. 

Young fellows laughing at each other's error; 
Hoops disarranged, curls flustered from their twist, 
The girls in pretty terror. 

The shore : — bright ankles glancing up the sward, 

The strong arms and luncheon coming blithely after; 
The nook selected, and the breathing hard. 
The jest and ringing laughter. 

The rushing swing beneath the rustling limb, 

The youngsters pushing and the lasses soaring; 
Romping and frolic by the fountain's brim, 
Croquet and battledoring. 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 20I 

Garlands of wild flowers shading manj a brow, 

And garnered posies of wee blooms prized highly; 
Strayed couples missed, and soft conjectures how 
Tliej slipped away so slyly. 

The snowy cloth upon the emerald sod, 

With platters few, but viands in profusion; 
Ham and cold chicken — feasting for a god, 
With fear of no intrusion. 

Cool bottles dripping from the icy spring, 

Old Sherry bubbling and bright Champagne popping; 
Youth and high joyance, in a jocund ring, 
Both thirst and hunger stopping. 

Blanche, with her beauty heightened by a blush, 
Which hints some secret of her recent ramble ; 
Maud, all the prettier for heated flush. 
Her skirt torn by a bramble. 

Helen and Annie flirting with their beaux; 

Belle with her apron stuffed with dewy cresses ; 
Harry, the rascal, struggling for the rose 
In Edith's raven tresses. 

Back to the cove : — a group of twelve or more. 
All homeward bent on tasks of love and duty; 
A shallop, slowly gliding from the shore, 

Freighted with health and beauty. 

Near Wolfboro, in a fine grove overlooking the Lake, the 
adventists have a noted camp-ground, and hither many of the 
sect yearly resort, to hear the prophecies expounded and to 
prepare for their speedy and final departure from this sub- 
lunary sphere. From Wolfboro, by the branch railroad to 
the Junction, 12 miles distant, and thence by the Conway 
Division of the Eastern Railroad, passengers can speedily 
reach North Conway and thence the White Mountains. 

To Alton Bay and Back to "Weirs. 

Our route lies in the opposite direction. We resume our 
steamboat travel, steering nearly due South, into Alton Bay. 
9* 



20^ TOUniSTS^ HANDBOOK. 

This inlet, or frith, is of surpassing beauty, bordered by lofty 
bluffs, crowned by lofty trees, and the narrow water-way seem- 
ino-, at times, to end abruptly before us, when rounding a bold 
point, we see it expanding in another direction. We follow 
it thus for four or five miles, to its head, where the railway 
station of the Boston and Maine, and the Bay View Hotel 
confront us. Alton Bay is one of the principal approaches 
to the lake, by the Boston and Maine, wh ch forms a White 
Mountain route, by the aid of the steamer, to Centre Harbor, 
and stages thence to the mountain. Returning to Weirs, we 
resume our seats in the cars, for the prosecution of our jour- 
ne3' northward. But before we leave the lovely lake, let us 
read John G. Whittier's beautiful description of an evening 
upon its fair waters. 

Summer by the Lakeside. 

Yon mountain's side is black with night, 

Whi e, broad-orbed, o'er its gleaming crown 

The moon slow rounding into sight, 
On the hushed inland sea looks down. 

How start to light the clustering isles. 

Each silver hemmed ! How sharply show 

The shadows of their rocky piles, 
And tree-tops in the waves below ! 

How far and strange the mountains seem, 
Dim-looming through the pale, still light! 

The vague, vast grouping of a dream, 
They stretch into the solemn night. 

Beneath, lake, wood, and peopled vale, 

Hushed by that presence, grand and grave, 

Are silent, save the cricket's wail, 
And low response of leaf and wave. 

Fair scenes ! whereto the Day and Night 

Make rival love, I leave ye soon, 
What time before the eastern light 

The pale ghost of the setting moon 



TOURISTS' BAND BO OK. 

Shall hide behind jon rocky spines, 
And the joung Archer, Morn, shall b reak 

His arrows on the mountain pines, 
And, golden-sandalled, walk the Lake ! 

Farewell ! Around this smiling bay 
Gay-hearted Health, and Life in bloom, 

With lighter steps than mine, may stray 
In radiant summers yet to come. 

But none shall more regretful leave 
These waters and these hills than I; 

Or, distant, fonder dream how eve 
Or dawn is painting wave and sky ; 

How rising moons shine sad and mild 
On wooded isle and silvering bay; 

Or setting suns beyond the piled 
And purpled mountains lead the day; 

Nor laughing girl, nor bearding boy. 

Nor full-pulsed manhood, lingering here, 

Shall add to life's abounding joy. 
The charmed repose to suftering dear. 

Still waits kind Nature to impart 
Her choicest gift to such as gain 

An entrance to her loving heart 

Through the sharp discipline of pain. 

Forever from the hand that takes 
Oue blessing from us others fall ; 

And, soon or late, our Father makes 
His perfect recompense to all ! 

O, watched by Silence and the Night, 
And folded in the strong embrace 

Of the great mountains, with the light 
Of the sweet heavens upon thy face, 

Lake of the Northlands ! Keep thy dower 

Of beauty still, and while above 
Thy solemn. mountains speak of power, 

Be thou the mirror of God's love ! 



203 



204 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



The Pemigewasset Valley, and Plymouth. 

Next we pass Meredith, a pleasant village on the west shore 
of the lake, with which we now part company, and proceed 
northwest, through Ashland, the point of departure for the 




beautiful Squam Lake, three miles east, cross the Pemige- 
wasset river near Bridgewater, and " round to at the wharf, — 



TOlfRISTS' HANDBOOK, 205 

no, beg pardon, the depot platform, — at Plymouth, 123 miles 
from Boston, just in time to hear the bell ringing for dinner 
at the Pemigewasset House close bj. It is a singular and in- 
structive coincidence, that at whatever time the train arrives, 
it is always dinner-time at the Pemigewasset, and as a fine 
table is set and thirty minutes are allowed for dinner, it is also 
a fortunate circumstance for travellers that it is so. The hotel 
has accommodations for about 300 guests, and is a favorite 
resort of tired pilgrims seeking rest among the lovely scenes 
in this vicinity. 

Plymouth is one of the most beautiful, flourishing and at- 
tractive of mountain villages, and the inducements which it 
holds out to visitors are equalled by those of very few Sum- 
mer resorts in the country. The ascent of Mount Prospect, 
with its splendid overlook, the drives and rambles along the 
romantic Pemigewasset, with its broad and fertile intervales, 
the trips to the mountains, to the fine Livermore Falls. 2 
miles north of the village, to Squam Lake, six miles east, and 
to Newfound Lake, nine miles southwest, and the stage ride 
to the Profile House, in the Franconia Notch, White Moun- 
tains, 20 miles distant, aie the principal features to be '' taken 
in " during a stay here. 

From Plymouth we continue our journey through Rumney 
and Wentworth to Warren, a place much frequented by visit- 
ojsin Summer. The Moosilauke House furnishes comfort- 
ble accommodations, and the Summit House on the top of 
Mount Moosilauke, nine miles from the village by a good car- 
riage road, (fare $4), also offers '' the comforts of a home" to 
wayfarers, who choose to view the landscape o'er from the 
mountain top. The hight of Moosilauke is 4600 feet, and 
standing isolated as it does, the view from its summit is grand 
and extended. Hurricane Bi'ook, near Warren, has many 
picturesque cascades, and there are manj' beautiful walks and 
drives in the vicinity. Passing through Haverhill, the county 
seat of Grafton county, we emerge from the mountain region 
upon the rich and fertile intervales of the Connecticut river, 



2o6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, 

which we soon cross and draw up at the Wells River station, 
165 miles from Boston. 

The Grand Trunk Route. 

Hence the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad, which 
runs parlor cars all the waj to the White Mountains, continues 
northeasterly, recrossing the Connecticut to Northumber- 
land, 219 miles from Boston, where it joins the Grand Trunk 
on its way from Portland to Montreal. From this junction, 
the Grand Trunk runs in a general northern direction, through 
the northwestern corner of New Hampshire, and the unin- 
teresting and sparsely settled Canadian townships to Rich- 
mond Junction, whence branches diverge respectively to 
Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal, the latter portion run- 
ning almost due west, and traversing 76 miles in about three 
hours. Midway is St. Hyacinthe, a pleasant French Cana- 
dian city, with a fine cathedral, and a college said to be fully 
equal to any in Canada. The rest of the trip is through a 
fertile district of tillage land, occupied by inhabitants who 
preserve the manners, customs, religion and language of their 
French ancestors to a remarkable degree. 

From Wells River, via Newport, Vt. 

But the " Air Line" so-called, proceeds along the banks of 
the Connecticut river, almost due north, over the Connecti- 
cut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, to St. Johnsbury, 204 
miles rom Boston. This is a busy and handsome town of 
some 5000 inhabitants, picturesquely located at the falls of the 
PaJ^sumpsic. The manufactory of Fairbanks scales is the 
principal industry, and gives employment to 500 or 600 men. 
Some 50,000 scales of various kinds are yearly made. There 
are also manufactories of mowing and threshing machines 
and other agricultural implements. St. Johnsbury is the 
shire town of Caledonia county, and has a fine court house on 
the hill, and in front a Soldiers' Monument — a pedestal sur- 
mounted by a statue of America, by Mead — and near at hard 



TOURISTS' handbook:. 



207 



the Athenaeum, with a library of some 10,000 volumes. Be- 
yond St. Johnsbury our route takes us through the towns of 
Lyndon, in which are the Great Falls of the Passumpsic, and 
Burke, whence carriages may be taken for Willoughby Lake, 
six miles north. This lake is one of the most wonderful and 
interesting natural objects in the State or indeed in the 
country, being situated between two immense mountains, 
whose bases meet far below its waters. The Lake is six miles 
long two wide and of unknown depth, a lOO-fathom line fail- 
ing to reach bottom. Mount Hor, 1500 feet above the water 
and 2700 above the sea level, stands on the west, and Mount 
Pisgah, Willoughby or Annanance (as it is variously named) 
2638 feet above the Lake, on the east shore. The latter moun- 
tain IS ascended by a pleasant walk of two miles up its forest 
clothed slope, and a vast and panoramic view is obtained from 
the summit, stretching out over the White Mountains on the 
Southeast ; Owl's Head and Jay Peak in Canada, on the North- 
west; Mounts Mansfield, Camel's Hump and Killington on the 
Southwest; Lake Memphremagog to the North, while the 
Connecticut Valley stretches far away to the South. The 
western face of the mountain is a perpendicular cliff of gran- 
ite, 600 feet high and two miles long. Rare flowers and plants 
are found at the " Flower Garden " at the foot of the cliff, and 
elsewhere on Mount Annanance. The Lake abounds in trout 
and muscalonge. The Willoughby Lake House furnishes 
accommodations for visitors, and hence carriages can be had 
for trips to other places of interests. Barton, 234 miles from 
Boston, is a place of considerable attraction to the tourist. 
Crystal Lake, with a house of the same name, is a lovely 
sheet of water near the railroad. 

Lake Memphremagog and its Beauties. 
We have now crossed the dividing ridge and are in the St. 
Lawrence water shed ; a ride of fifteen miles more brings us 
to Newport, on the southern extremity of Lake Memphre- 
magog, where we shall find it both pleasant and profitable to 
" tie up " for a time at the Mcmpremagog House. 



208 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

This fine hotel (kept for several years by Mr. W. F. Bow- 
man, a gentleman of long experience in the business, and one 
who never fails to enjoj the friendship and esteem of his 
guests, through his unvarying courtesy, efficiency and thought^ 
fulness), has just been greatly enlarged and improved, and 
now affords accominodatlon for several hundred guests, with 
all the luxuries and conveniencies of a palace. Its delightful 
location and healthful surroundings make it a most desirable 
summer residence. Water, gas, steam, bathing-rooms, 
billiard-halls, bowling alleys, a livery stable, pleasure boats, 
and a populous village, with everything that ministers to the 
traveller's occasional necessities, contribute to make the 
Meniphremagog all that can be desired. One who has ever 
enjoyed the gorgeous sunset views from the broad piazzas, or 
sat on a moonlight evening while the band played, and watched 
the steamers and boats on the lake ; one who has climbed Pros- 
pect Hill, roamed along the Clyde and Coventry Falls, within 
easy drive of the house, and then with sharpened appetite 
feasted on the speckled trout, the luscious berries, and other 
dainties of the mountain and the lake with which the tables 
here are loaded, — will need no urgency to bring him again to 
Lake Meniphremagog. Jay Peak, in the towns of Jay and 
Westfield, thirteen miles west of Newport, is visited from here ; 
and the ascent is effected by carriage road, — a magnificent 
view of the Green Mountains, the Lake, the White Mount- 
tains, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondacks, repaying the 
tourist for the trip. Its height is 4018 feet. The magnificent 
body of water known as Lake Memphremagog, often likened 
by tourists to Loch Lomond, Lake Geneva, or Lake George, 
is 35 miles long and from 2 to 5 miles wide. Its rocky shores 
are indented with beautiful bays, while wooded headlands jut 
boldly out, and picturesque islands dot its surface here and 
there. Newport is a delightful village, upon a hillside sloping 
down to the clear water. 



TO URIS TS^' HANDBOOK. 209 

A Trip down the Lake. 

This is one of the most delightful excursions that can be 
made. The "Ladj of the Lake," a beautiful iron steamer, 
leaves the village everj morning for Magog, a Canadian vil- 
lage at the northern outlet, and returns the same day. Indian 
Point, the Twin Sisters, Province Island, Tea Table Island, 
Fitch's Bay, and Whetstone Island are passed ; and soon the 
steamer approaches " Owl's Head," a conical, symmetrical 
peak, rising 3,000 feet above the lake, whose waters lave its 
foot. A short sail past Round Island, a gracefully rounded 
and dense'y wooded islet, brings you to a landing almost at 
the foot of Owl's Head, where is located the Mountain House, 
a famous spot with those who delight in fishing; the deep, 
cool waters of the lake abounding in muscalonge and lake 
trout. The ascent of Owl's Head is made from this point, if 
one tarries long enough. Skinner's Island and Cave are near 
by, to the eastward of the Mountain House, and are famous as 
the haunt during the war of 1812 of Uriah Skinner, " the bold 
smuggler of Magog," of whom a poetic legend exists. In the 
cave, it is said, he took refuge from pursuit and there died. 
Continuing northward, Mount Elephantis (sugar Loaf) and 
the Hog's Back are seen ; and we pass Long Island, on whose 
southern shore is the famous " Balance Rock," a huge mass 
of granite, poised on a narrow point at the water's edge. This 
island is the summer home of several wealthy Canadians, 
whose beautiful residences crown its wooded heights. Round- 
ing the bold Gibraltar Point, Mount Orford comes in full view, 
— the loftiest peak of Lower Canada, rising 3300 feet, and 
distant five miles from the little hamlet of Magog, where the 
boat stops a short time. From Magog, John Norton's stage- 
line conveys the visitor who desires to Sherbrooke, on the 
Grand Trunk Railway, a ride of sixteen miles around the 
base of Mount Orford. At Sherbrooke, the Magog House, 
under the management of Mr. H. S Helpburn, will be found 
a very desirable resort. It is one of the best kept houses in 
Canada ; and the finest fishing can be had in the vicinity. 



^10 TO URIS TS' HA NDBOOK. 

The famous Lakes Massawippi and Meguntic are but a short 
distance from the house, and many visitors come hither to 
capture the trout, pickerel, bass, mullet, pike, muscalonge 
and other fine fish with which thej swarm. From Sher- 
brooke, proceeding north to Richmond Junction and thence 
northeast to Point Levi on the shore of the St. Lawrence, but 
a short ferrj ride separates us from Quebec ; or, proceeding 
west as already described, we can reach Montreal. By far the 
shortest route, however, from here, is that by the Southeastern 
Railroad from Newport, via Richford and St. John's to Mon- 
treal. Our route lies in a northwesterly direction through 
the corner of Vermont into the realms of Queen Victoria. 
At Richford a connection is made with the Eastern Division 
of the Central Vermont for St. Albans, and at West Farnham, 
65 miles from Newport, with the Northern Division of the 
same road, to Waterloo, 29 miles east. Fifteen miles further 
we come to St. John's, where we pass to the track of the 
Grand Trunk Railway, and cross the fertile township of La 
Prairie to St. Lainbert, and thence by the magnificent Victo- 
ria Bridge, into Montreal. The cost of this gigantic structure 
was originally estimated at £1,450,000; but this sum has 
since been reduced, and the present calculation of its cost is 
about £1,250,000. In it 250,000 tons of stone and 7,500 tons 
of iron, have been used. The iron superstructure is sup- 
ported by 24 piers and two abutments. The centre span is 
330 feet: there are 12 spans each side of the centre, of 242 
feet each. The extreme length, including abutments, is 7,000 
feet. The height above summer water level in the centre 
opening is 60 feet, descending to either end at the rate of one 
in 130. The contents of the masonry is 3,000,000 cubic feet. 
The weight of iron in the tubes is 8,000 tons. The following 
are the dimensions of the tubes through which the trains 
pass in the middle spun, viz., 22 feet high, 16 feet wide; at 
the extreme ends, 19 feet high, and 16 wide. The total length 
from the river bank is 10,284 feet, or about 50 yards less than 
two English miles. About ten minutes is spent in this dark 



TO Uris ts^ ha NDBOOK. 2 1 1 

pa'^sage, and then we emerge upon a lofty causeway, over- 
looking the majestic St. Lawrence and the city of Montreal, 
which we soon enter and in a few minutes draw up in the 
Bonaventure street station, a grim and dingy shed, unworthy 
the beautiful city and the wealthy and extensive Grand Trunk 
Railway. 

The Central Vermont Route. 

From Concord to Montreal one of the most direct and 
favorite routes, especially for passengers desiring to stop at 
any of the Vermont watering places by the way, is that by the 
Northern Railroad to White River Junction, and thence via 
Montpelier and St. Albans to St. John's. The road passes 
north from Concord, along the right bank of the Merrimack, 
by the manufacturing village of Fisherville, then crosses at 
the confluence of the Contoocock River to Dustin's Island, 
and thence to ti e left bank. On the island (which is noted as 
the spot where Hannah Dustin, who was captured by the In- 
dians, at the sacking of Haverhill, Mass., slew a number of 
her savage guards and escaped) a granite monument to her 
was dedicated, with imposing ceremonies, in the Summer of 
1874, on the spot of the slaughter. From this point we tra- 
verse the rich lands of Boscawen and Franklin, (the birthplace 
of Daniel Webster, in 17S2, and now a thriving factory vil- 
lage, whence a branch runs 18 miles up the Pemigewasset 
Valley to Bristol) through the Andovers to Potter Place, 
whence stages run to Mount Kearsarge, four miles south. 
From its 2461 feet of elevation a fine view of the Green Moun- 
tains. Lake Winipiseogee and the White Mountains is ob- 
tained. The Kearsarge House, near the railway station, has 
good accommodations for the visitor. Thence we proceed to 
White River Junction, 144 miles from Boston, where we cross 
the Connecticut River on an open bridge, affording a fine view 
up and down, and draw up alongside the broad platform of the 
station. At this Junction the Central Vermont Railroad to St. 
Albans, Connecticut Valley Railroad from Bellows Falls and 



212 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

places south, the Passumpsic and Connecticut Rivers Railroad 
to Newport, Vt., and the road over which we have just 
passed, all centre. The Junction House at this place has 
long been a favorite with the travelling public. It offers 
special conveniences for those who are travelling between 
Canada and Boston or New York. Through trains arrive here 
at all hours of the daj and night, making sometimes a long 
stop. This house, which is but a few steps from the station, 
and is everyway a first-rate hotel, gives to all travellers needed 
rest and refreshment. There is also a large dining hall, well 
supplied, in the station, and as all trains stop long enough for 
a good honest dinner, the passenger is sure of good fare either 
at the station or hotel. Both are kept by the Messrs. A. T. & 
O. F. Barron, the famous hosts of the Crawford and Twin 
Mountain Houses, in the White Mountains. We now ascend 
the valley of the picturesque White River, for about 25 miles, 
to Roxbury, the summit of the pass, 1,000 feet above the sea 
level, by which we cross the Green Mountain chain. Here 
are quarries of splendid verd. antique marble, and just across 
a bridge, 400 feet long and 70 high, is the town of North- 
field, renowned for slate quarries, and the Norwich Military 
Institute. Ten miles further, or 207 from Boston, is Mont- 
pelier Junction, whence a branch of a mile leads to the village, 
the Capital of Vermont Montpelier is a pleasant and attractive 
place, on the Winooski or Onion River, which makes its way 
hence to Lake Champlain, at Burlington. The village is 
situated on a «ort of plateau surrounded by hills, and is neatly 
and compactly built. The State House, a fine edifice, of light 
granite, fronts on a beautiful common, and standing on a con- 
siderable elevation, is reached by terraces and steps of granite. 
It contains Larkin G. Mead's inarble statue of Ethan Allen, and 
trophies of Vermont valor in the several wars of the nation, 
among them 2 cannon captured from the Hessians, at Ben- 
nington. The State House is surmounted with a dome 124 feet 
high, crowned with a marble statue of Ceres. The country 
about Montpelier abounds in pleasant drives. Beyond the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 213 

Junction, the main line passes through Middlesex to Water- 
burj, the point of departure for Mount Mansfield and Camel's 
Hump. The latter is eight miles south, and can be visited 
from Waterburj. On the way, 3 miles from the station, are 
the romantic Bolton Fall". Stowe, 10 miles north of Water- 
burj, is the objective point for visitors to Mount Mansfield, 
and a drive of 8 miles from Stowe brings one to the summit, 
4348 feet above the sea level. 

Stowe and Mount Mansfield. 

Stowe is often called "The Saratoga of Vermont," from the 
number of summer visitors who flock hither, each season. 
Here is located the famous Mount Mansfield Hotel, accom- 
modating 400 guests, with large airj rooms, in suites or pri- 
vate pariors, brilliantly lighted w.th gas, supplied with liverj 
stables, bowling alleys, croquet grou ids, cafe, theatre, and 
billiard halls. A telegraph ofiice is near bj; and the table is 
spread with the choicest delicacies of the season. A good road 
has been built to the top of the mountain, over which visitors 
can be taken with safety, without change of carriages. The 
summit is broken into 3 peaks, called the forehead, the nose, 
and the chin, from a fancied resemblance in their outline, to a 
human face turned upward. The Smuggler's Notch is a deep 
rocky pass between the Nose and Mt. Sterling, and was used in 
the war of 181 2, for smuggling goods between Central Vermont 
and Canada. A small hotel stands in the Notch, near a great 
spring, the source of the Waterbury river. Many other places 
of interest are found near Stowe, and its popularity as a Sum- 
mer resort is well deserved. Continuing our journey, the 
country growing more open and fertile, and the Winooski 
River being often in view, with its many falls and rHpids, 
Essex junction is reached, 240 miles from Boston, whence a 
branch runs eight miles w> st, to Burlington, there connecting 
with the Rutland Division (;f the railroad. We follow the 
Winooski River closely, pact the famous falls and gorges, 
and is a romantic bit of travel. The main line continues north 



214 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

from Essex, crossing the Lamoille river on a bridge 450 feet 
long, and stops at St. Albans, 264 miles from Boston. In Mil- 
ton are the great falls of the Lamoille, 100 feet high, affording 
power for extensive lumber mils. Several fine views of the 
lake are gained during the last few m les. 

St. Albans and its Advantages. 

St. Albans is blessed with one of the most sightly locations 
in the world, and with the central offices and works of the 
Central Vermont Railroad, two advantages not lightly to be 
despised. It has also much history of warlike prowess to 
recount. It stands on a sort of table land three miles from 
Lake Champlain, which is spread out before the eye of any 
one who will drive about town and ascend Bellevue or Aldis 
Hills, and such a pro pect is rarely gained. Steamers cross 
the lake daily from St. Abans Bay, the nearest point on the 
shore, to Plattsburgh, N. Y. St. Albans has about 6000 in- 
habitants and one first-class hotel, the Weldon i louse. The 
great railway station of brick, with its commodious offices and 
its many tracks, is one of the finest in New England, and the 
great car shops nearby furnish employment for several hun- 
dred men. This is the great butter and cheese market of New 
England, and St. Albans quotations rule the country in dairy 
products. In 1864, the famous raid of 22 armed Confederates 
from Canada occiu-red, resulting in the plundering of the 
banks of $208,000 in cash, the shooting of several citizens, 
one fatally, and a safe retreat into Canada. In June, 1S66, a 
Fenian army assembled here, made a raid across the line, re- 
tired, and was disarmed by United States troops. In April, 
1870, the same thing was repeated in every detail. Thus, 
though there has been little actual fighting here, St. Albans 
has been the scene of some very extensive wars on a small 
scale. 

The Vermont Mineral Springs. 

Ten miles from St. Albans, the Eastern Division of the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 215 

railroad — to Richford as previously noted — passes through 
Sheldon Springs, where are the famous Missisquoi, Sheldon, 
Vermont, Continental and Central Springs. The Missisquoi 
Falls, 119 feet high, are near the Sheldon Spring, which is a 
mile from the Missisquoi, and the Central Spring is two miles 
east. Near the Missisquoi stands the Missisquoi House, a 
large and first-class summer hotel; near the Sheldon Spring 
is Congress Hall, another fine house ; and near the Central 
Spring are many hotels and boarding houses, going to make 
up Sheldon Village. The waters of these springs are cele- 
brated for their cures of cutaneous disorders — dyspepsia and 
liver complaints, cancer, etc. They are extensively bottled, 
and also used for bathing. 

On the main line north from St. Albans, a ride of nine 
miles past Swanton Junction and East Swanton, brings us to 
Highgate Springs, (where the Franklin House accom- 
modates some 200 guests in the season). Two miles south- 
east, Highgate Falls on the Missisquoi river has another 
spring — the Champlain — and two hotels, the Champlain 
and Green Mountain. John G. Saxe, the poet, was born 
here, and this is the border town of Vermont, the train soon 
crossing the line into Her Majesty's Dominion of Canada, a 
fact which fails to impress us if we don't happen to know 
where it occurs. We now traverse several Canadian town- 
ships on the banks of the Richelieu, with the isolated peaks 
of Belcfiil and Rougemont visible on the right, and soon reach 
St. Alexandre, 307 miles from Boston, where we cross the 
Richelieu to St. Johns, whence we proceed to Montreal as 
already described. 

Another route from St. Albans diverges from that last 
mentioned at Swanton Junction, whence we pass Alburgh 
Springs, 16 miles from St. Albans and 291 from Boston. 
Here are famous mineral waters used in cutaneous disorders, 
and a fine hotel, the Alburgh Springs House. There are fine 
drives on the lake shore, and excellent boating and fishing. 
Passing Alburgh and West Alburgh, our train crosses the 



2l6 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

outlet of Lake Champlain on a long trestle bridge, to Rouse's 
Point, N. Y., whence the Western Division of the Central 
Vermont, over which we have just come, continues northwest 
to Ogdensburgh on the St. Lawrence, 141 miles from St. Al- 
bans and 406 from Boston. The Champlain Division of the 
Grand Trunk Railway conveys us hence, along the left bank 
of the Richelieu, 23 miles to St. John's. 

Yet another Route. 

At White River Junction, if we choose, instead of proceed- 
ing northwest by the Central Vermont, we may follow the 
Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad through Nor- 
wich, whence stages run to Hanover, about a mile southeast, 
the seat of Dartmouth College, to Wells River, 184 miles from 
Boston, whence the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad, 
opened in 1874, makes close connections for Montpelier, 38 
miles distant. The line passes by a sweeping curve, up 
through Ryegate, Groton, Peacham, Marshfield and Plain- 
field to the capital, where we connect with the Central Ver- 
mont for St. Albans, by the route already described. 

From Rutland to Montreal. 

If it be desired to proceed direct from Rutland to Montreal, 
the Rutland Division of the Central Vermont, by M'^hich onr 
route lay froin Bellows Falls, will be adhered to, and we shall 
continue north to Burlington, 234 miles from Boston, 68 from 
Rutland. This route is very direct, and carries one through 
several places of considerable interest. At Sutherland Falls, 
a splendid view is presented from the car windows. A deep 
gorge, curtained by tall trees which almost obscure the vision 
of the falling waters, flashing through the rifts in the foliage 
as the branches are swayed in the wind, opens on the one 
side ; while to the other it spreads out into a lovely intervale, 
with sinooth, green meadows and siniling farms, while an 
amphitheatre of majestic mountains forms the background. 
As we journej' onward, we see all along green and fertile 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 2iy 

meadows, mirror-like streams, and the grand array of moun- 
tains. Sixteen miles north of Rutland is Brandon. This 
town contains two singular caverns in limestone, eighteen feet 
square, entered hy going down twenty feet from the surface. 
There is a marble quarry in the place; and minerals of differ- 
ent kinds abound. One of the notable curiosities and won- 
ders of Brandon is to be found in the works of the Brandon 
Manufacturing Company. Howe's standard scales are made 
here, and have made their name familiar with all the dealers 
in goods sold by weight. At this place the Brandon House 
affords pleasant accommodations to those desiring to spend a 
few days in the vicinity and visit the numerous points of in- 
terest, or to those whose business brings them hither, of 
whom rhany every year avail themselves of its comfortable, 
homelike arrangements. At Pittsford, midway between 
Brandon and Rutland, is located a fine medicinal spring, its 
qualities being similar to those of the famous Clarendon 
Spring at Saratoga ; and there is, besides, the best of trout- 
fishing in the immediate vicinity. The drives are delightful; 
and the marble quarries, like those of Rutland and Brandon, 
are of great interest to strangers. For their comfort the Otter 
Creek House affords a pleasant stopping-place. 

Nine miles from Brandon by stage, and eight miles from 
Middlebury, is Lake Dunmore, a sheet of water nine miles 
long and three wide. It is surrounded by a pleasant variety 
of high bluffs, and green, sloping hillsides. The bracing 
mountain air and the fishing in the vicinity have made this 
quite a popular resort. The Lake Dunmore House is fitted 
up with special reference to the wants of visitors at the lake, 
and is well adapted to its purpose. Middlebury, fifteen miles 
north of Brandon, is on the Otter Creek, and has on every 
side most beautiful wild mountain scenery. White and va- 
riegated marble is found near by, and is exported in large 
quantities. This place is the seat of Middlebury College. 
Good fare and rest for travellers is furnished at the Addison 
House. From this centre the distance is short to Lakes 
lo 



2l8 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

George, Dunmore and Champlain, Grand View Mountain, 
and Belden Falls. Soon the road approaches the shore of 
Lake Champlain, and we catch fleeting glimpses, through the 
openings in the trees, of its glittering, sheeny surface. 
Stretching awaj in the distance, its dancing waves, capped 
occasionally by a flitting sail, seem the embodiment of liquid 
life ; while in the distance, looming hazy and only half sub- 
stantial in their purple bloom, we see the peaks of the Adiron- 
dacks, far beyond the clear expanse of waters. 

Vergennes, fourteen miles north of Middlebury, at the head 
of navigation on Otter Creek, is the oldest city of Vermont. 
There is an United States arsenal there; and much of the 
ship-building for Lake Champlain has been done at the place. 
Otter Creek is here 500 feet wide, and is navigable for the 
largest craft on the lake. At Vergennes, also, many visitors 
stop for a few days to enjoy the view of the falls, the sail 
down Otter Creek and upon Lake Champlain, and the de- 
lightful drives in the neighborhood. For all such tourists 
the Stevens House affords a desirable stopping-place. A 
steamer connects Vergennes with Port Henry on the west 
side of Lake Champlain, landing at Fort Cassin, Basin Har- 
bor, and Westport, thus giving one of the direct routes to the 
Adirondack Mountains. The Otter Creek Falls, at Vergennes, 
are divided by an island, on both sides of which the water 
makes a descent of 35 feet. At Ferrisburg a dam, with its 
flashing sheet of water, forms the foreground of as delightful 
a scene as a painter would wish to put on canvas ; while to 
the left, across the meadows, opens a picture of a quiet brook, 
and the neatly-kept grounds and cottage of some thrifty far- 
mer. Near Shelburne we get a lovely view of Lake Cham- 
plain ; and a little above, the cars pass very near to the water 
side, and we see the field of liquid azure stretching away from 
our very feet, with its emerald isles nestled cosily on the 
broad bosom of the lake. The purple peaks of the Adiron- 
dacks are in full view; and, with the soft haze which covers 
their rugged sides, they seem the enchanted mountains of our 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 219 

dreams. Soon the bright picture fades ; the shores of the 
lake recede ; and the train dashes through tracts of woodland 
obscuring the view, and giving onlj transient glimpses of the 
scenes we have so admired, and 3i miles from Vergennes, we 
emerge upon the verj shore of the lake, between immense 
piles of lumber, skirt a long row of wharves and 'stop in the 
large station at Burlington. Thence our route to Essex 
Junction and St. Albans and so to Montreal has been already 
described. 

From Plattsburgh to Montreal. 

From Plattsburgh there are three routes to Montreal, 
neither of which requires long description. We majtake the 
steamer to Rouse's Point and the railroad thence to St. 
John's as already described ; or we may take the cars over the 
New York and Canada Railroad, to Mooer's, through an in- 
teresting country, newly cleared, flat and swampy, and thence 
to Rouse's Point. Or, if novelty be dcbired and time be no 
object, we may continue on the New York and Cunada to 
Province Line, then change to the cars of the Grand Trunk 
which here connects, and solemnly meander northward, past 
the little Canadian villages — consisting chiefly of log cabins 
and tin roofed churches — of Hemmingford, La Pigeoniere, 
St. Remi and St. Isidore to the Indian Village of Caughna- 
waga on the south bank of the St. Lawrence. Here a squalid 
ferry-boat is taken for the transit across the river to Lachine, 
where we disembark, and in due time — it rnay be five min- 
utes or it may be an hour — take another train for Montreal, 
8 miles distant. The trip embraces only 63 miles from Platts- 
burgh, but it consumes four hours. At each of the stations 
the trains stops ten minutes or so, while the conductor and 
other train hands and such of the passengers as can talk 
the French Canadian ^a^fow " go ashore " and swap jokes with 
the loungers about the little depots. The loungers embrace 
pretty much the entire able-bodied population of each village, 
and they turnout en masse and stroU^down to the station 



220 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



when the train comes, for their daily feast of gossip. This 
cannot be called an enlivening journey, but if one have a taste 
for the odd things of travel and plenty of time, it is w^orth 
trying. As " all roads lead to Rome " so each of the routes 
described will bring the wayfarer to Montreal, if that be the 
object of desire. 





CHAPTER X. 



Niagara Falls. 

lAGARA [Falls can be^ 
easily reached from 
Saratoga, by resuming 
the cars of the Rens- 
selaer and Saratoga 
Railroad, via Ballstorf 
to Schenectady, 23 miles 
southwest, and 252 miles 
from Boston. Schenec- 
tady is noted as the seat 
of Union College, which 
stands on the heights, 
overlooking the city. 
The buildings consist of 
two large halls, with a 
beautiful stone library 
between, and the Uni- 
versity bears a high 
reputation. Schenectady 
stands on abroad plain, 
near the Mohawk, and is a city of 12,000 inhabitants ; its iron 
works are the chief industries. Here we transfer ourselves to 
the dingy and comfortless wooden shed, dignified with the 
name of depot, and wait the arrival of the train over the New 
York Central Railroad, from Albany, bound for Niagara. For 




2 22 ■ ' TOURISTS'' HANDBOOK. 

nearly loo miles the road follows the valley of the Mohawk; 
and much of the time the river is in sight. At Fonda, 279 
miles from Boston, a road diverges to Johnstown and Glovers- 
Yille, 10 miles north, the principal manufactories of buckskin 
gloves and mittens in the country. At Little Falls, 309 miles 
from Boston, the Mohawk descends 45 feet, furnishing power 
for many factories. This town and Herkimer, seven miles 
further, are famous for the shipment of the rich cheese pro- 
duced in the fertile country hereabout. Ilion, two miles 
beyond Herkimer, is a town of some 4000 inhabitants, where 
the famous Remington Arms Factory employs 1000 men. 
Twelve miles further the train crost^es the Mohawk, on an 
iron bridge, and enters Utica, 330 miles from Boston, a city of 
30,000 inhabitants, and the business centre of a rich and exten- 
sive farming country. The Erie Canal passes through Utica, 
and is joined by the Chenango Canal to Binghamton, 97 miles 
South. Utica is the seat of the Lunatic Asylum, and several 
well reputed educational institutions, and is a beautiful and 
pleasant place of residence. The Black River and Utica Rail- 
road runs northwest to the St. Lawrence, at Clayton, and other 
railroad connections are made Southward to Norwich and 
Binghamton. By the Black River road, an excursion is 
made in 40 minvites to Trenton Falls, 17 miles North, on the 
West Canada Creek, a tributary of the Mohawk. The water 
descends 200 feet, by five cascades, plunging down into a deep 
chasm in the limestone rock, with perpendicular walls, from 
70 to 200 feet high. Tiie water is of a dark amber hue, and 
the various colors given out as it flashes over the rocks, and 
is lighted by the sun's rays, are very novel and beautiful. 
The Sherman, High, Milldam, Alhambra, and Prospect Falls 
are successively reached by ascending the canon from Moore's 
Trenton Falls House, and vary in height from a few feet to 
80 (the High Falls.) The Alhambra, near the fall of the same 
name, is a broad stone platform, walled by the gorge. Rome, 
344 miles from Boston, is quite a railroad centre for this region. 
It is a city of 11,000 inhabitants, with a United States Arsenal 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 223 

for its principal object of note, and the Rome, Watertown and 
Ogdensburgh Railroad, sweeping in a bold curve which follows 
the general outline of Lake Ontario, and the upper St. Law- 
rence, through Watertown, to Ogdensburgh and Potsdam, 
with branches to Sackett's Harbor, as its great artery of trade 
and travel. From Rome, we proceed southwest, by Verona, 
whose springs, saturated with muriate of soda and sulphuretted 
hydrogen gas, are strongly medicinal, and resemble the Eng- 
lish Harrowgate springs, to Oneida, a village of 4,000 popula- 
tion, near the lake of the same, which we skirt on the South, 
at a few miles distance. Here the New York and Oswego 
Midland Railroad crosses the New York Central, running 
northwest to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, 57 miles. Near 
Oneida is the celebrated Free Love Commuity. Chittenango, 
II miles from Oneida, is the location of several medicinal 
springs, similar to the White Sulphur of Virginia. Kirkville 
and Manlius are passed, near which are other sulphuretted 
waters, and we arrive at Syracuse, 383 miles from Boston, the 
great salt manufactory of the country. Syracuse is a city of 
55,000 inhabitants, located very near the geographical and 
railroad centre of the State, and hence is the meeting place 
of many conventions. Besides the New York Central, rail- 
roads run to Oswego and Sandy Creek on the north and 
northeast, to Burlington south, and to Norwich southeast. 
There are here many fine buildings, the Court House of Onon- 
daga county, the Penitentiary, three Orphan Asylums, the 
State Idiot Asylum, City Hall, Syracuse University, two Con- 
vents and many churches being the chief. 

The gray and imposing Renwick Castle near the University 
is seen over the trees, and produces a fine effect. The great 
curiosity, as well as the principal source of wealth of Syra- 
cuse, is the salt manufactory, which lies near Onondaga Lake, 
a little northwest of the city. Here great natural salt springs 
or wells yield in unlimited quantities a brine so strong that 
35 gallons yield a bushel of salt. Some 5000 laborers, 40,000 
solar vats and 20 kettles are employed, and 200,000 tons of 



224 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK^ 

coal annually burned. The production since 1797, when the 
State took control, has been some 230,000,000 bushels, and is 
now at the rate of 8,000,000 to 9,000,000 bushels. Horse cars 
convey the visitor to these works. Onondaga Lake, near 
which the Indian tribe of the same name used to have its 
fortress, is six miles long by one mile wide, and is traversed 
by small ste^tmers and pleasure boats. From Syracuse to 
Rochester, the New York Central has two routes, — the old, 
through Auburn, Geneva and Canandaigua, passing near the 
northern ends of the Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca 
and Canandaigua Lakes, which look on the map like so many 
sweet potatoes laid side by side, and at Canandaigua turns 
riorthwest and proceeds to Rochester, making the distance 
from Syracuse 102 miles; and the new or northern route, 
which passes in nearly a straight line through Port Byron, 
Lyons and Palmyra to Rochester, in 81 miles, or 464 from 
Boston. The through trains take the latter course. There is 
nothing of special interest to note until we reach Clyde, but 
at the latter village, 36 miles from Syracuse, we enter the 
paradise of mint juleps, the grand storehouse of peppermint 
in its crude form. Here are thousands of acres of mint on 
every side, one-third of all used in the country being grown 
hereabouts. It is cut and distilled, yielding 20 pound'^ or so 
of oil to the acre of herb. We now iollow the Erie Canal, 
and catch frequent glimpses of the noble craft plowing the 
waters, under the impetus afforded by the gentle mule on the 
tow-path. To be the captain of one of these magnificent 
floating palaces, with its freight of grain and hops and hap- 
piness and hop-poles is indeed a proud ambition. Palmyra, 
56 miles from Syracuse, is the place where Joseph Smith, the 
Mormon prophet, pretended to find the golden plates of the 
Book of Mormon. 

Rochester and its Attractions. 

Still following the Erie Canal, through a number of unim- 
portant townships, we enter the beautiful outskirts of Roches- 



TOURISTS' HANJbBOOiC,- 225' 

ter, cross the (jeiiessee River just above its famous falls, and 
reach the railway station near the centre of the citj. Roch- 
ester is a handsome city of 70,000 inhabitants, built on both 
sides of the Genesee River, seven miles from its mouth at 
Lake Ontario. It is the capitol of Monroe County, and the 
fine county buildings are located here. The City Hall, the 
University of Rochester, some 60 churches, several hospitals 
and asylums, numerous schools and business blocks, are also 
handsome and costly structures. The Powers Building is the 
most notable thing in the architectural line which Rochester 
has to show. It stands on the corner of Buffalo and State 
streets, and is probably without an equal in this country as a 
business structure. It fronts 175 feet on each street, and is 
seven stories high besides the basement, which is of New 
Hampshire granite, and a full story in height. The rest of 
the block is of Ohio stone and iron. The whole is surmount- 
ed by a square tower 30 by 24 feet, which rises five stories 
higher, the tiled " sky floor " being 163 feet above the street. 
The building is quadrangular in form, and tubular in con- 
struction, having an open area in the centre for the purpose 
of light. The ground floor contains a bank and fifteen stores, 
and the upper stories contain 220 rooms, used for purposes of 
business of all sorts, and for lodgings. Indeed, the block is a 
city in itself, and a person could live, carry on business, at- 
tend amusements, make calls, and view a good deal of the 
country without ever leaving the building. The halls are a I 
tiled with marble, the stairways are. of iron, and all the floors 
are supported on iron girders and brick arches, the partitions 
are of brick and the window fraines of iron. Each main wall 
rests on the solid bed rock. The grand staircase cost $20,000, 
and contains fifty tons of iron. 1 he entire building is heated 
by steain. There are about 1000 tenants, and the building 
would hold 80 000 people on its ten acres of flooring. Two 
powerful elevators ascend the building, the car of one of 
which is the finest in the country. The view from the top of 
the tower, 400 feet above the level of the lake, is magnificent 
10* 



2 26 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

in its breadth and variety. In a clear day the Canadiairl 
shore is visible, and the commerce of the lake flitting bj adds 
the element of life to the fair picture. 

Another of the curiosities of Rochester is the great aqueduct 
bj which the Erie Canal crosses the Genesee river. This was 
considered an impossible undertaking when the canal was 
projected, and its completion was deemed a wonderful triumph 
of engineering skill. The aqueduct is of cut stone supported 
on massive piers. The Genesee Valley Canal here joins the 
Erie, after descending 978 feet by 97 locks, in its 125 miles of 
length, from the Pennsylvania mountains. The Genesee 
River, which flows through the' heart of the city, is bridged 
by Main street, which is built so solidly that one would never 
suspect a river flowed beneath, the buildings standing on 
stone arches through which the water passes. The Genesee 
and its famous falls have been the cause of Rochester's pros- 
perity. The immense water power afforded by the falls has 
been utilized for the propulsion of many flowing mills, the 
wheat coming from the rich country near at hand. These 
falls are but a short distance from the center of the city, and 
are best seen from an enclosure, known as '' Falls Field," with 
a small admission fee. The rivcT here pours over a ledge of 
solid rock, 96 feet high, down into a walled gorge. The fall 
is very picturesque and only less majestic than Niagara. Here 
Sam Patch made his fatal leap. Nearly two miles below, the 
middle falls, 25 feet high, are reached by horse cars, and a little 
further on are the lower falls, 84 feet high, much the most 
pictviresque of the three. Rochester is also famed for its nur- 
series of fruit trees and shrubs, for its flower seed establishments 
and for its beautiful streets, shaded by fine trees and bordered 
by handsome residences. From Rochester railroads diverge 
to Charlotte, seven miles North, where steamers touch on their 
way between Oswego and Toronto ; to Buffalo. 69 miles Westat 
the eastern extremity of Lake Erie, passing through the 
prosperous village of Batavia, the capital of Genesee county; 
to Cooming, 95 miles Southeast, the junction of the Erie Rail- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 22^ 

Way; Southwe-t to Caledonia, where the Canandaigua and 

Niagara Fall Railroad is joined, and West 77 miles to Niagara 

Falls. 

Kocliester to the Suspension Bridge. 

From Rochester our route lies in a generally almost due 
westerly direction, passing through Medina (near which are 
the Oak Orchard Acid Springs), and Lockport, where the 
Erie Canal descends from the " Erie Level" to the "Genesee 
Level," 66 feet, by ten double locks of solid cut stone. 
These locks may be seen from the train, and give their name 
to the city. When viewed in the evening, with the long lines 
of lights on either side the canal and on the boats in the locks 
at the different levels, the scene is romantic and fairy-like. 
The canal also furnishes a large surplus of water which is used 
for driving flouring mills and factories. Here we cross the 
canal, with which we henceforth part company. From Lock- 
port, a branch railroad runs southwest to Buffalo, 26 miles. 
Nineteen miles further brings us to Suspension Bridge, where 
the first view of the mighty falls is gained, and whence a ride 
of two miles along the eastern or right bank of the river, 
brings us to the village of Niagara Falls. 

Kiagara Village and its Hotels. 

If we are to see the American side first, and the points 
accessible therefrom, we will continue on to the station 
above, in the village directly beside the Falls. There are 
several hotels near the station. The Monteagle House will 
compare favorably with any which the tourist will visit at any 
place. It has a fine location which affords a view of the two 
Suspension Bridges, two miles of the River, the entire 
Falls and the Whirlpool. The rooms are large, airy, and 
handsomely furnished, many of them overlooking the 
Rapids, Goat Island, and the Falls; the table is unex- 
ceptionable, being supplied with all the substantials and 
luxuries of the season ; the attendance is excellent, the 
prices reasonable, and everything about the house is home- 



^28 . tOtJRISTS' HANDBOOta. 

like and enjoyable. The proximity of the house to the mighty 
rapids (by many considered the most pleasing feature of 
Niagara), the views of Goat, Bath and other islands, and the 
ease with which one can visit every point of interest, have 
made this house justly a favorite. As for many years, the Mon- 
teagle House is under the management of Alexander and 
Terrill, which is sufficient guarantee of its continued popular- 
ity. The International, Spencer and other houses are in the 
village of Niagara Falls, and the Clifton House on the Cana- 
dian shore. 

The Tour of the Islands. 

The bridge to Bath Island has been mentioned. It is a sub- 
stantial iron structure, crossing the river in the midst of 
the Rapids to Bath Island, on which there is a paper mill and 
several small buildings. A similar but smaller bridge crosses 
to Goat Island. The payment oi 50 cents enables one to make 
the entire tour of the islands, or f i pays for a season ticket. 
Goat Island is one of the wonders of Niagara. It would be a 
most charming and picturesque island anywhere, with its 
noble growth of forest trees, its sylvan dells, its fertile, sunny 
openings, and its delightful shade. But here, surrounded by 
the mighty river rushing onward to its stupendous plunge, 
the island seems to gain additional beauty; and new wonders 
develop themselves at every visit. At the upper end is the 
vast expanse of the Rapids; on either side the marvellous 
Falls, separated by the island itself, which, on its lower end, 
between the Falls, is a bare precipice of rock, rising sheer 
from the bed ot the river over 150 feet in height. Froiu Goat 
Island a small bridge crosses over the Central Fall, a lovely 
sheet of water, to Luna Island, — a tiny islet perched on the 
very verge of the precipice, and laved on either side by the 
Central and American Falls. At nearly the opposite extrem- 
ity of Goat Island, a bridge is thrown across a small portion 
of the Rapids, to the first of thiee little islands, densely 
wooded, and known as the Three Sisters, other bridges con- 



tOURISfS' HANbBOOk: 2^9 

hecHng with the two remaining islets. From these a splendid 
view of the mighty rapids down to the edge of the great 
Canadian Fall, and the outline of its bold sweep, are gained. 
At the edge almost of this tremendons cataract another small 
foot-bridge is thrown across a slender channel of water, to a 
rockj prominence in the very edge of the Fall itself. Here 
stood Terrapin Tower, a circular structure of stone 45 
feet high, famous for many years, from the top of which 
visitors could see the entire Falls, and even peer into the 
depths of the foaming abyss below. But in 1873, being deemed 
unsafe, it was blown up, and a new and more substantial 
structure is to take its place. Even the view of the Rapids 
from this point, or indeed from any point on the islands, 
would repay a visit. The river, with its mighty volume of 
water, pours over the rocky bottom, which has a rapid descent, 
— over 50 feet in three-quarters of a mile, — causing a succes- 
sion of small cascades, boiling whirpools, and rushing chan- 
nels. 

The Biddle Stairs, and Cave of the "Winds. 

On the face of the vertical precipice between the falls, a 
wooden tower, encasing a spiral staircase, leads down to the 
bank of broken rock and debris, which has evidently fallen 
from the cliffs above, and forms a narrow dyke, sloping to the 
waters of the river. At the foot of these "Biddle Stairs" a 
person can emerge and walk for some distance beneath the 
cliif, almost to the foot of the great Canadian Fall, and, by a 
succession of wooden foot-bridges guarded by railings, into the 
" Cave of the Winds," as the space between the overhanging 
precipice and the sheet of water forming the Central Fall is 
called. In this cave the visitor, clad in rubber clothing, and 
wearing canvas overshoes to prevent slipping, is drenched 
with the spray which the currents of air, drawn in by the 
motion of the water, and meeting in the centre, are constantly 
whirling in every direction, while the tremendous roar of the 
vast body of water, beating on the rocks below, makes every 




CENTRAL FALLS, (Cave of tlie Winds. 



inds.) 



TOURISTS' handbook: 23 1 

other sound inaudible, and nearly deafens the tourist. From a 
visit to the " Cave of the Winds" a person can gain an idea 
of the immense volume of water constantly pouring over the 
Falls, this Central Fall being but a slender rivulet compared 
with the lofty American Fall, itself small in comparison with 
the great Canadian Fall. Near theBiddle Stairs is shown the 
spot where Sam Patch is said to have leaped from a projecting 
staging, down into the deep water below the Fall, and to have 
come out in safety. Goat Island is visited by thousands every 
year, the circuit of the island being made by carriages, and an 
opportunity given for the occupants to dismount at each point 
of interest. 

Prospect Park and its Attractions. 

Returning to the American shore from the tour of the 
islands, we proceed down the river bank a short distance to a 
lofty gateway inscribed "Prospect Park." Here 25 cents 
admits a foot passenger. Of this Prospect Park much non- 
sense has been written in the past year or two, about "fen- 
cing in the Falls," etc., and much denunciation of the owners 
of the land for their greed. No doubt the State of New York, 
years ago, ought to have reserved the lands lying along the 
Falls, as a part of the public domain, and made of them a free 
pleasure park; but the State did nothing of the kind. It sold 
grants of land to the settlers ; and they have had to do the 
best they could. When Niagara first became a famous water- 
ing place, there were no improvements. Goat Island was 
almost inaccessible. There were no means of visiting the 
spots where now the most enjoyment is found. By degrees the 
islands have been opened to visitors, the ferry across the river 
established, the suspension bridges constructed. But Prospect 
Point — the projection of land directly abreast the American 
Fall, and from which one could toss a chip or even dip his hand 
into the very cataract — remained unimproved. It was a rough, 
rocky, scrubby cliff, covered with loose stones and gnarly trees, 
with no wall or railing even at the brink, to prevent the un- 



232 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

warj from falling over; infested bj peddlers, Indians, and 
vagabonds, and having no conveniences for the visitors. The 
land could not be made productive to the ow^ners ; for the hosts 
of visitors would constantly overrun it. So the owners asso- 
ciated themselves, and at the expense of several thousand 
dollars, have enclosed the Point, built a solid and safe wall 
along the edge of the precipice and on the side towards the 
Fall, so that visitors, even children, can sit with perfect safety 
directly over the rushing torrent, and gaze into its foamj 
depths ; built a safe and rapid inclined railway (in a tunnel 
through the solid rock) to the water's edge below the fall, 
built summer houses, cleared and beautified the grounds, 
supplied them with seats, etc. 

Across the River to the Canadian Fall. 

A small fee pays for the descent of the inclined railway, 
and the ferry passage across the river to the Canadian shore. 
On this trip, which is made in a barge, one has a magnificent 
view of the whole of the falls at once, looking up from the 
river below them, which is here not broad but very deep, sO' 
deep in fact that the water appears a dai^k green. Reaching 
the Canadian shore, one can ascend a road to the bank above,, 
or can scramble (if he be so minded, and have thick boots) 
over the stones along the water's edge to the foot of the great 
Canadian Fall, and ascetid the stoi e stairs jubt below Table 
Rock. Then, having viewed the falls from the Canadian . 
side, a short walk down the river brings us to the '■ New Sus- 
pension Bridge" (for carriag s and foot passengers -j-iIv} 
which crosses* 1800 feet below the American Fall i.nd by\\hich 
we can return to this side. The towers of this bridge on the 
Canadian side are 120 feet high, and on the American side 
106 feet. 

Near Table Rock stands a small museum, from the roof of 
which a fine general overlook of the falls is gained, and where 
a collection of curiosities, insignificant enough beside the 
great curiosity of the world, the falls, is shown. Here guides 



TOlfRIStS' ttAHDBOO^. ^33 

and rubber suits maj be procured for a trip under the edge of 
Horse-shoe Fall. Either tower of the Suspension Bridge maj 
be ascended ; that on the American side bj stairs, that on the 
Canadian side by an elevator, and from either a majestic view 
of the Falls and the deep narrow gorge below is gained. Near 
the bridge, on the American side, is the beautiful Bridal Veil 
Fall, an artificial sheet of water, pouring over the perpendicu- 
lar cliff, at the lower end of the hydraulic canal, which fur- 
nishes the power for some shops and for the hotels, and 
returns it to the river here. 

The Great Suspension Bridge, and the View Thence. 

But the Suspension Bridge, known the world over as one of 
the greatest achievements of engineering skill, is two iniles 
below the Falls. Its length is 800 feet, and its height above 
the water 26S feet. The towers are 66 feet high ; and each of 
the four main cables supporting the bridge is nine inches in 
diameter, and composed of 800 wires. There is a carriage 
and foot way 28 feet below the railroad track. Its cost 
was $500,000. Over it run, or rather crawl the trains of the 
Great Western Railway, for Hamilton and the far West. One 
mile below the Suspension Bridge the river widens, and gives 
a sudden turn, so that the waters are forced along in an im- 
mense seething, heaving whirlpool. A mile below the Whirl- 
pool is tlie Devil's Hole, 150 feet deep, and two acres in extent. 
The carriage road runs right up to the margin of the abyss, 
so that without leaving a carriage one may look down into it. 
From the Suspension Bridge a splendid view of the entire 
Falls is gained. It is like a panorama or a bird's-eye view, so 
complete, yet so reduced by distance ; and many think it the 
finest view that can be anywhere gained of the great wonder, 
Niagara, At the Suspension Bridge, the waters of the river 
are compressed into a narrow gorge, with high perpendicular 
cliffs for banks. From their top one can look down 240 feet 
to the surface of the water. The bottom of the stream is pro- 
bably as much farther down ; at any rate, the water from its 



^34 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

immense depth, looks as darklj green as the ocean itself. 
Just below, the river narrows to 400 feet, one-tenth its width 
at the Falls, and here the water, from being so closely com- 
pressed, rushes through the gorge in the most terrible rapids, 
which toss and heave white masses in the center of the river 
to the height of 30 or 40 feet. A vertical railway leads to the 
water's edge at these famous Whirlpool Rapids. On the 
American side, at the Suspension Bridge, is Niagara City, 
(mostly on paper at present) nicely laid out in squares, with 
a large and pleasant hotel, the Monteagle. On the Canadian 
side is the village of Clifton. 

Niagara Swindles, So-called. 

Much denunciation has been wasted on Niagara hotel-keep- 
ers, Niagara hackmen, and Niagara swindles generally; and 
it is mainly based on ignorance or injustice. The hotel 
charges are no higher than at any other prominent summer 
resort; there are no more "extras; " the fees for seeing the 
wonders are — as we have seen — very reasonable, considering 
the attractions; and the charges of the hack-drivers are quite 
moderate, if one be not over-flush with his money at the out- 
set. The hackmen are all licensed by the corporation of the 
village; and any complaint of over-charge or incivility, will 
secure the revocation of a license. For $2 (and the gate- fees) 
a good carriage can be had to take one around the islands and 
through Prospect Park ; for $5 two persons can ride all the 
forenoon. Of course there are petty swindles in the shops 
for the sale of "Table-rock jewelry," Indian bead-work, 
feather fans, etc. ; but no one is obliged to buy them. And ex- 
cellent stereoscopic views of the Falls, which are decidedy the 
prettiest and most useful mementoes to bring away, can be 
bought as cheaply as the same class of goods in New York or 
Boston. Of course t' e class of persons who go to Niagara 
merely to say that they have been there, and have seen all the 
sights can also generally have it to say that they were out- 
rageously swindled while there ; but a sensible person, who 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. ^35 

goes to see the great wonders, fullj and judiciously, can get 
a dollar's worth for every dollar he expends, as well as in New 
York or Boston. The neighborhood is full of historic associa- 
tions connected with the late war with Great Britain. Fort 
Erie, Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, and many other scenes of 
hard-fought battles, are near. Lewiston and Queenstown are 
on opposite sides of the river, seven miles below the Falls, at 
the head of navigation on Lake Ontario. 

Daniel "Webster's Famous Description. 

Daniel Webster's description of Niagara Falls, written In 

1825, and found in vol. ii., p. 385, of his correspondence, has 

been often quoted ; and some passages from it are worthy of 

reproduction here, though many things which he describes 

are changed since 1825: — 

"Lake Erie is 330 feet higher than Lake Ontario; but, in 
decending the river from Lake Erie, one perceives no very 
great descent, although the current is all the way rapid, till 
we get nearly down to the Falls. A little below the village of 
Black Rock, perhaps about five miles from Lake Erie, the 
river divides into two channels, forming a large island in the 
centre called Grand Isle, about 12 miles long, and in some 
places six or seven broad. This island terminates, and the 
two channels unite again, just at the head of what is called 
the Rapids, a mile or a mile and a half above the great Falls. 
These rapids are a succession of cascades spreading over the 
whole river, of difterent and various heights and appear- 
ances, rendering the whole breadth of the stream, (which is 
here not less than two miles) white with foam. They would 
form a fine object, if there were nothing near to call the at- 
tention another way. Midway of these rapids is Goat Island, 
which divides the river into two unequal parts, about one- 
third in breadth being on the eastern or American side, and 
two-thirds on the British. The island runs down to the very 
brink of the Falls, and there terminates in a perpendicular 
precipice (a wall of rock), which is part of the same great 
declivity over which the river pours. This island thus divides 
the river, so that it falls over the precipice in two sheets. The 
length of the fall on the American side is estimated at 380 
yards ; the distance across the end of Goat Island 330 j^ards ; 
the length of the fall on the British side 700 yards. The fall 



2^6 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



is thought to be the highest on the American side, being there 
165 feet, and on the British side 150. Vastly 'he greatest portion 
of water (three-fourths, or even more) runs on the British side. 
As jou descend the river from Lake Erie and approach the 
Falls, the river seems to fall away from your feet, and to pitch 
right down into the earth. Many miles before you reach the 
Falls you see the mist or spray rising like a cloud; but this 
does not seem to be rising from the earth into the air as much 
as from the centre of the earth to the surface : it appears to 
be coming from the ground. From the bottom of the Falls 
to Lewiston, seven miles, the whole channel of the river is 
one great trough, 100 or 150 feet deep, with sides of perpen- 
dicular rock. This has given currency to the opinion that the 
Falls were once seven miles lower down than they now are, 
and that the force of the water in time has worn away the 
rocks, and forced the Falls back to their present position. As 
we stood to-day at noon, on the projecting point at Table 
Rock, we looked over into the abyss ; and, far beneath our 
feet, arched over this tremendous aggregate of water, we saw 
a perfect and radiant rainbow. This ornament of heaven 
does not seein out of place in being half way up the sheet 
of the glorious cataract; it looked as if the skies them- 
selves paid homage to this stupendous work of nature. 
From Table Rock, or a little further down, a winding stair- 
case is constructed, down which we descend fi*om the level 
of Table Rock, 95 feet. This brings us to the bottom of 
the perpendicular rock; and from this place we descend 
50 or 60 feet further, over large fragments of rock, and other 
substance, down to the edge of the river. If at the bottom 
of the staircase (instead of descending further) we choose to 
turn to the right and go up the stream, keeping close at the 
foot of Table Rock or the perpendicular bank, we soon get to 
the foot of the fall, and approach the end of the falling mass. 
It is easy to get in behind for a liitle distance between the fal- 
ling water and the rock over which it is precipitated. This 
cannot be done, however, without being entirely wet. From 
within this cavern there issues a wind, occasionally very strong, 
and bringing with it such showers and torrents of spiay, that 
we are soon as wet as if we had come over the Falls with the 
water. As near to the fall in this place as you can well come, 
is perhaps the spot on which the mind is most deeply iinpressed 
with the whole scene. Over our heads hangs a fearful rock, 
projecting like an unsupported piazza. Before us is a hurly- 
burly of waters too deep to be fathomed, too irregular to be 
described, shrouded in too much mist to be clearly seen ; water, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 237 

vapor, foam, and atmosphere are all mixed up together is sub- 
lime confusion. Bj our side, down comes this world of green 
and white waters, and pours into the invisible abyss. A 
steady, unvarying, low-toned roar thunders incessantly upon 
our ears. As we look up we think some sudden disaster has 
opened the seas, and that all their floods are coining dov/n 
upon us at once ; but we soon recollect that what we see is not 
a sudden or violent exhibition, but the perinanent and uniform 
character of the object which we contemplate. There the 
grand spectacle has stood for centuries — from the creation, as 
far as we know, without change From the beginning it has 
shaken as it now does the earth and the air; and its unvarying 
thunder existed before there were human ears to hear it. Re- 
flections like these on the duration and permanency of this 
grand object naturally arise, and contribute much to the deep 
feeling which the whole scene produces. We cannot help be- 
ing struck with a sense of the insignificance of man and all 
his works, compared with what is before us." 

Excursions from Niagara. 

From Niagara, trips may be made by carriage to the battle- 
fields of Lundy's Lane and Chippewa, and to the Burning 
Spring, (which is kept in constant ebullition by a stream of 
sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which ignites and burns with an 
intermittent blue flame and the odor of aged eggs^, all on the 
Canada side. By rail, one may proceed to the Suspension 
Bridge, two miles, or to Lewiston seven miles down the 
river on the American shore, and back, a rapid and inexpen- 
sive excursion. 

Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence. 

A most delightful trip is that from Niagara down Lake On- 
tario and the Upper St. Lawrence, to Montreal. Two routes 
may be chosen — one by rail to Kingston or Prescott, thence 
by steamer down the St. Lawrence ; the other by boat across 
Lake Ontario, and down tlie river. Those who desire, or 
are compelled by urgency of time, can make an all-rail trip 
from Toronto to Montreal ; but they will lose the charming 
scenery of the St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands. In 
either case we visit Toronto ; and to get there take a seven- 



238 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

mile railroad ride down the Niagara River, overlooking the 
stream much of the way, to Lewiston, which is situated at 
the head of navigation on the lower Niagara, and is a pleasant, 
well built village. Queenston is a village of about 200 in- 
habitants on the Canadian side, nearly opposite Lewiston, 
and was the scene of a battle in the war of 181 2. Near this 
point the river becomes more tranquil, the shores less broken 
and wild, and the scenery changes from rugged grandeur to 
beauty. On Queenston Heights, the scene of the battle, 
stands Brock's monument, erected in honor of the British 
general who so gallantly defended the place. 

Taking the little steamer "City of Toronto" at Lewiston, 
we are soon steaming down the Niagara river, on both banks 
of which are points of historic interest, dating from the days 
of the '' Old French War," as well as the last war between the 
United States and Great Britain. Fort Niagara stands at the 
river's mouth, on the American side. There are m^ny inter- 
esting associations connected with the spot, as, during the 
earliest part of the past century, it was a scene of many severe 
conflicts between the whites and the Indians, and subse 
quently between the English and the French. The village 
adjacent to the Fort is called Youngstown, in honor of its 
founder, the late John Young, Esq. Niagara is one of the 
oldest towns in Upper Canada, and was formerly the capital 
of the province. 

Across the Lake to Toronto. 

Leaving Niagara, we steam across the western end of Lake 
Ontario, and soon arrive at Toronto, the capital city of Upper 
Canada, which is situated on an arm of Lake Ontario, 36 
miles from the mouth of Niagara river. Toronto Bay is a 
beautiful inlet separated from the main body of Lake Ontario, 
except at its entrance, by a long, narrow, sandy beach. The 
southwestern extremity is called Gibraltar Point. The popu- 
lation in 1817 was 1,200, but at the present time it amounts to 
about 60,000. Among the principal buildings of Toronto are 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 239 

Trinity College, University of Toronto, and St. James Cathe- 
dral. One of the ecclesiastical edifices deserves especial 
notice* — the Chuixh of the Holy Trinity, a handsome 
structure, erected by a donation of £5,000 from some liberal 
person from England, on condition that the whole of the 
seats should be free. The Elgin Association, for improving 
the moral and religious condition of the colored popula- 
tion, is among the most useful institutions of the place. 
That stupendous undertaking, the Grand Trunk Railway of 
Canada, passes through Toronto, and promises a splendid 
future for Toronto and its sister cities. 

Down Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence. 

From Toronto, where we transfer ourselves to a much 
larger and finer steamer, — the "Corinthian," " Corsican," 
•'Spartan," "Algerian," or "Bohemian," of the Canadian 
Transportation Company, — we proceed eastward, straight 
down Lake Ontario, keeping within a few miles of the north- 
ern shore. On this side. Port Hope, a pretty town containing 
about 2200 inhabitants, is located in the valley of a small 
stream emptying into the lake, with a fine range of hills ris- 
ing to the westward. Coburg lies seven miles below Port 
Hope. It contains 4000 inhabitants, seven churches, two 
banks, and the largest cloth-factory in the province. It is 
also the seat of Victoria College and a theological insti- 
tute. Kingston, the original capital of Canada, is at the 
mouth of the Cataraqui River, and just at the foot of Lake 
Ontario, whence runs the St. Lawrence. As early as 1672, 
the French under De Courcelles began a settlement here, and 
built a fort, which was named Fort Frontenac, in honor of the 
French count of that name. In 1762 the English took pos- 
session, and called the place Kingston. It is one of the im- 
portant military posts of Canada, and has about 11,000 
inhabitants. The harbor is very fine. The land projects out 
on the east side of the bay, forming Point Frederic or Navy 
Point, east of which is a deep basin called Haldimand Cove, 



240 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK, 

where are found the rojal dock yard, and much of the ship- 
ping of the navj. The citj is built chiefly of blue limestone ; 
and wells of mineral water have been found by boring to dif- 
ferent depths, from 75 to 1145 feet. Among the noticeable 
buildings here, are the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the build- 
ings of Queen's College (Presbyterian), Eegispole's College 
(Roman Catholic"), and the Provincial Penitentiary. The 
extremity of the Rideau Canal, which connects Lake On- 
tario with the Rideau River — one of the tributaries of the 
Ottawa — is near Kingston, and adds much to the business of 
the place. On the American side of the lake are Charlotte, 
Oswego and Sackett's Harbor. 

The Thousand Islands. 

About six miles below Kingston the river widens, and em- 
bosoms the loveliest group of islands imaginable, — the far- 
famed Thousand Islands. They are in an expansion of the 
St. Lawrence, at the outlet of Lake Ontario ; and the broad 
river in which they lie partakes so much of the character of 
a lake, that it is often called ''The Lake of the Thousand 
Isles." For 40 miles down ihe river this beautiful scene con- 
tinues, the boat which leaves Kingston at early dawn gliding 
among no less than 1800 of these "emerald gems in the ring 
of the wave " of all sizes, from the islet a few yards square to 
miles in length, and covered with a heavy growth of trees. 
This group is constantly attracting the attention of sportsmen 
and pleasure- seekers. Fish so large as to make angling tire- 
some, and wild-fowl of all kinds, are everywhere abundant. 
President Grant has been a guest here of Mr. George M. Pullr 
man. President of the Pullman Palace Car Company, who 
owns a villa on one of these islands. These islands, too, have 
been the scene of most exciting romance. From their great 
number, and the labyrinth-like channels among them, they 
aftbrded an admirable retreat for the insurgents in the last 
Canadian insurrection, and for the American sympthiziirs with 
them. Among these was one man, who from his daring and 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



241 



ability, became an object of anxious pursuit to the Canadian 
authorities ; and he found a safe asylum in these watery in- 
tricacies, through the devotedness and courage of his daughter, 
whose inimitable management of her canoe was such that, 
through hosts of pursurers, she baffled their efforts at capture, 
while she supplied him with provisions in these solitary re- 
treats, rowing him from one place of concealment to another, 
under shadow of the night. But, in truth, all the islands, 
which are so numerously studded through the whole chain of 
those magnificent lakes, abound with materials for romance 
and poetry. Opposite the Thousand Isles, on the American 
side of the river, is Clayton, "well known as a lumber station. 
Here the rafts are made up for their long voyage down the 
St. Lawrence, and look like floating villages with the huts that 
are built on them for the protection of the raftsmen. Alexan- 
dria Bay is the next port after leaving Clayton. It is built upon 
a massive pile of rocks ; and its situation is romantic and highly 
picturesque. It is a place of resort for sportmen, and during the 
past two or three seasons has become a popular and fashion- 
able watering-place. Here the Thousand Island House, a fine 
hotel, built in 1873, furnishes palatial accommodations for 600 
guests. The verandah connecting with the long hall of the 
first floor, gives a promenade 624 feet in length, the verandah 
portion being 374 feet and the hall 250 feet. The whole house 
is supplied with water, and lighted with gas. The view over 
the islands from the lofty tower is exceedingly fine. Alexan- 
dria Bay is 30 miles from Cape Vincent, and 36 miles from 
Ogdensburgh, both northern termini of the Rome, Water- 
town and Ogdensburgh Railroad. From both places, steamers 
ply to the bay. Some two or three miles below the village, 
is a position from whence 100 islands can be seen at one view. 
This place also is celebrated for its fishing and shooting. 
The beauty of the islands in this vicinity, for several miles 
up and down the river, can hardly be imagined without a 
personal visit. Here many of those splendid fish, the mus- 
calonge, are killed : they are of large size, many of them 
11 



242 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

weighing 40 or even 70 pounds each. Thej are taken with 
trolling lines; and it requires a skilful angler to land one 
safely. Sportsmen consider the taking of these fish equal to 
salmon-fishing. During the past few seasons many of these 
beautiful islands have been bought bj wealthy people for 
Suminer residences. Hart's island, directly opposite, and very 
near to the village, is said to be the spot where Thomas 
Moore, the Irish poet, wrote early in the century his famous 

Canadian Boat Song. 

Faintly, as tolls the evening chime. 

Our voices keep tune, and our oars keep time ; 

Soon as the woods on shore look dim. 

We '11 sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn. 

Row, brothers, row, the streain runs fast. 

The rapids are near and the daylight's past. 

Why should we yet our sails unfurl? 
There is not a breath the blue wave to curl ! 
But, when the wind blows oft' the shore, 
Oh ! sweetly we '11 rest on our weary oar. 
Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast, 
The rapids are near and the daylight's past! 

Utawa's tide! this trembling moon. 
Shall see us float over thy surges soon : 
Saint of this green isle ! hear our prayers, 
Oh ! grant us cool heavens and favoring airs. 
Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast. 
The rapids are near and the daylight's past! 

On the Canada side, fifteen miles below Alexandria, is 
Brockville, one of the most attractive towns on the river, 
named in honor of Gen. Brock, who fell at Queenston in 
1812. Here is the Junction of the Grand Trunk Railroad 
with Brockville and Ottawa Railroad, which extends north- 
ward to the Ottawa River. 

Ogdensburg and its Railway Facilities. 

On the American side of the river is Ogdensburg, a town of 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 243 

about 9,000 population. This is the western terminus of the 
Ogdensburg and Lake Chaniplain Raih'oad (now under con- 
trol of the Central Vermont), which connects Ogdensburg 
with Rouse's Point on Lake Champlain, and so opens the 
route to Boston and New York. The Central Vermont Com- 
pany has here a freight and pas&enger station 305 feet by 84, 
and numerous other buildings for business on a grand scale. 
The extensive elevators of the Central Vermont line are 
located here, at which vessels laden with grain on the lakes 
discharge their cargoes. Opposite Ogdensburg is Prescott; 
and a mile below is Windmill Point, where the ruins of an 
old windmill are seen, in which Von Schultz took refuge with 
the Polish patriots in 1837. Five miles below, at the first 
rapids of the St. Lawrence, is Chimney Island, where the 
remains of an old French fortification are seen. 

Excursion to Ottawa. 

At Prescott, passengers can take the cars for Ottawa, and 
then descend the Ottawa river to Montreal. The distance 
from Prescott to Ottawa, over the St. Lawrence and Ottawa 
Railroad is 51 miles, Ottawa is the capital of the new do- 
minion of Canada, and is situated on the Ottawa river, a 
stream 800 miles long, which enters the St. Lawrence on 
both sides of the island of Montreal, 130 miles below the city 
of Ottawa. The city is divided into three parts — Lower, 
Central and Upper Town. The Government Buildings, 
when completed, will be among the finest on the American 
continent. These buildings, with the government offices and 
Queen's Printing-house, occupy three sides of a square on the 
summit of Barrack Hill, which rises almost perpendicularly 
from the river to the height of 350 feet. Rideau Falls, in the 
eastern part of the city, two in number, are very attractive, 
but are far surpassed by the Chaudiere Falls in the western 
portion of the city. They are 40 feet high and over 200 feet 
wide. A suspension bridge just below the falls crosses the 
river, and gives a splendid view of the falls, the caldron below 



244 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

them, and the rapids. The lumber shoots which are built 
here for running down the lumber, and save it from breaking 
to pieces in going over the falls, are objects of exciting in- 
terest. The passage may be made from Ot'awa to Montreal 
by steamer down the Ottawa river. Picturesque and thickly 
wooded banks rise on each side much of the way. Two miles 
below Ottawa is the mouth of the Gatineau, a stream more 
than 400 miles long, which drains a vast unexplored region. 

The Rapids of the St. Lawrence. 

But a most exciting as well as one of the most delightful 
portions of our trip, is at hand, — the passage of the rapids of 
the St. Lawrence. At Chimney Island, previously mentioned, 
the first of these rapids, and one of the sinallest and mildest, 
— the Galop Rapid — is reached. Next comes the Long Sault, 
a continuous rapid of nine miles, divided in the centre by an 
island. The usual passage for steamers is on the south side. 
The passage is very narrow; and such is the velocity of 
the current, that a raft it is said, will drift the nine miles in 
forty minutes. This is the most exciting part of the whole 
passage of the St. Lawrence. The rapids of the " Long Sault." 
rush along at the rate of something like 20 miles an hour. 
When the vessel enters within their influence, the steam is 
shut off", and she is carried onwards by the force of the stream 
alone. The surging waters present all the angry appearance 
of the ocean in a storm; the noble boat strains and labors; 
but, unlike the ordinary pitching and tossing at sea, this going 
down hill hy water produces a highly novel sensation, and is, 
in fact, a service of some danger, the iinminence of which is 
enhanced to the imagination by the tremendous roar of the 
headlong boiling current. Great nerve and force and pre- 
cision are here required in piloting, so as the keep the vessel's 
head straight with the course of the rapid; for if she diverges 
in the least, presenting her side to the current, or " broached 
to," as the nautical phrase is, she would be instantly run 
aground. Hence the necessity of enormous power over her 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 245 

rudder; and for this purpose the mode of steering affords 
great facility ; for the wheel that governs the rudder is placed 
ahead, and by means of chain and pulley sways it. But, in 
descending the rapids, a tiller is placed astern to the rudder 
itself, so that the tiller can be manned as well as the wheel. 
Some idea may be entertained of the peril of descending a 
rapid, when it requires four men at the wheel and two at the 
tiller, to insure safe steering. Here is the region of the dar- 
ing raftsmen, at whose hands are demanded infinite courage 
and skill. There is, however, but little danger to life, as it fre- 
quently happens that a steamer strikes and sinks ; but a few 
minutes puts her safely in shoal water. The Canadian 
Navigation Company has never lost any lives by accidents of 
this kind in descending the rapids. Of course it is impossible 
for steainers to ascend these rapids ; so canals are constructed 
around them, with locks, by which the boats are enabled to 
make the return passage. The splendid boats of the Canadian 
Navigation Company leave the foot of Lake Ontario in the 
morning, and reach Montreal at night. The Government is 
about to deepen the channel through all the rapids to 10 feet. 
Cornwall, at the lower end of the rapids, is near the boundary 
line between the United States and Canada. St. Regis is an 
old Indian village, and lies a little below Cornwall, on the 
opposite side of the river. It contains a Catholic Church, 
which was built about the year 1700. While the building 
was in progress, the Indians were told by their priest that a bell 
was indispensable in their house of worship, and they were 
ordered to collect furs sufficient to purchase one. The furs 
were collected, the. money was sent to France, and the bell 
was bought and shipped for Canada. But the vessel which 
contained it was captured by an English cruiser, and taken 
into Salem, Mass. The bell was afterwards purchased for the 
church at Deerfield. The priest of St. Regis having heard of 
its destination, excited the Indians to a general crusade, for 
its lecovery. They joined the expedition fitted out by the 
governor, against the New England Colonists, and proceeded 



246 TOZfBISTS' BAND BOOK. 

through the then long, trackless wilderness, to Deerfield, 
which they attacked in the night. The inhabitants un- 
suspicious of danger, were aroused from sleep only to meet 
the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the savage. Fortj- 
seven were killed, and 112 taken captive; among whom were 
Mr. Williams, the pastor, and his family. Mrs. Williams being 
feeble at the time and not able to travel with her husband and 
family, was killed by the Indians. Mr. Williams and part of 
his surviving family afterwards returned to Deerfield, but the 
others remained with the Indians, and became connected with 
the tribe. The Indians having recovei'ed the bell, carried it 
slung to a pole, through the forest; and it now hangs in the 
church steeple at St. Regis. 

Lake St. Francis 

is the name given to the St. Lawrence for a distance of 40 
miles, between Cornwall and Coteau du Lac, where it widens 
considerably, and is interspersed with a large number of 
islands. At Coteau du Lac the river grows narrower again; 
and the Coteau Rapids (two miles long), the Cedars (three 
miles), the Split Rock, and Cascade Rapids are passed, the 
river descending 82^ feet in 11 miles. There is a canal 11 
miles long around these rapids, at the lower end of which is 
the village of Beauharnois. In the expedition of Gen Am- 
herst, a detachment of 300 men, that were sent to attack Mon- 
treal, were lost in the rapids near this place. The passage 
through these rapids is very exciting. There is a peculiar 
motion of the vessel, Avhich in descending seems like settling 
down, as she glides from one ledge to another. In passing 
the rapids of the Split Rock, a person unacquainted with the 
navigation of these rapids will almost involuntarily hold his 
breath until this ledge of rocks, which is distinctly seen from 
the deck of the steamer, is passed. Near Beauharnois, on 
the north bank, a branch of the Ottawa enters into the St. 
Lawrence. The river again widens into a lake called St. 
Louis. From this place a view is had of Montreal Mountain, 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 24-f 

nearly thirty miles distant. In this lake is Nun's Island, 
which is beautifully cultivated, and belongs to the Grey Nun- 
nery at Montreal. There are many islands in the vicinity of 
Montreal belonging to the different nunneries, and from which 
they derive large revenues. At Lachine, nine miles above 
Montreal, the celebrated Lachine Rapids, short, but the rough- 
est and most dangerous on the river, begin. The descent is 
44^ feet in eight miles. Here the passengers crowd forward, 
and peer anxiously ahead and on every side, for the first 
glimpse of the long-expected, half-feared rapids. Just at the 
head of these rapids, a little Indian village, Caughnawaga, is 
seen on the right bank of the river. Here steain is shut off, 
and the boat comes nearly to a stand-still. A birch canoe 
puts out from the shore, with two men in it. It comes along- 
side ; and a brawny, dark-skinned old man, in a picturesque 
garb, comes aboard. It is old Baptiste, the Indian pilot, who 
has for over 40 years piloted steamers through these rapids. 
He takes his place at the wheel, rings the bell to go ahead, 
and, aided by four or five powerful men, he steers the boat 
through the foaming, boiling surges, and past the ugly ledges 
that threaten to wreck her. The rapids safely passed, we 
shoot under the Victoria Bridge, and are soon moored to the 
magnificent pier at Montreal. These extensive piers, quays 
and walls of gray limestone, which border the entire river 
front, are among the finest in the world, and we gain a fair 
view of them as we land from the steamer. Passengers for 
Quebec and other points down the river are transferred direct 
to one of the fine steamers about starting, and then our 
steamer is warped into the locks at the foot of the Lachine 
canal, raised to the upper level, admitted to the basin, and we 
land on the broad quay, where a host of cabs, ornnibuses and 
other vehicles are in waiting to convey us to our hotel. 



Chapter xl 




Montreal and Its Environs. 



ONTREAL, the Queen city of Canada, is 
built upon the island of the same name, 
formed bj the confluence of the t^vo 
mouths of the Ottawa river with the St. 
Lawrence, which is here a mile and a 
half wide. The island of Montreal con- 
tains 197 square miles, and from its ferti- 
lity and beauty is called "the garden of 
Canada." The city takes its name from 
the mountain which towers behind it, 
and which Jacques Cartier, in 1535, 
named Mount Royal. At that time the site of the city was 
occupied by a walled Indian Village called Hochelaga. In 
1603, Champlain brought hither a small colony of Frenchmen 
who settled here. In 1642, M. de Maissonneuve and his asso- 
ciates having bought the island, and dedicated it to the Holy 
Family, landed here and named the city, "Ville Marie de 
Montreal." It has now a population of about 150,000, is one 
of the principal commercial cities of the Dominion, and by 
far the most attractive on the scores of natural beauty and 
elegance of its buildings. The streets are straight, intersect 
generally at right angles, and present all the characteristics 
of streets in the great American cities. Along McGill, Great 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 249 

St. James, and Notre Dame streets, the principal retail busi- 
ness thoroughfares, are many fine stores which make attrac- 
tive displays of goods, while on Dorchester, St. Catherine 
and Sherbrooke streets, (the latter the Beacon street or Fifth 
avenue of Montreal), are numbers of princely residences. 
No city affords more comfortable, handy and cheap facilities 
for seeing the sights than Montreal. Hundreds of light, com- 
modious and attractive one-horse hacks, which convey four 
persons with ease and speed, stand on the streets waiting for 
fares, and the prices charged by the hour or the trip are very 
reasonable. If a driver, who can talk English and who is dis- 
posed to point out places of interest, be secured, which can 
easily be done, a drive about the city, for half a day, will be 
found most delightful as well as instructive. But before 
minutely considering the objects of interest, we shall desire 
to find out a good hotel for our stopping place, and we cannot 
do better than to take the omnibus of the Ottawa Hotel, or to 
call a cab and tell the driver to land us there. This house 
having been enlarged and improved, will now accommodate 
over 350 guests. The Ottawa Hotel covers the entire space 
of ground between St. JamQS and Notre Dame streets, and has 
two beautiful fronts. The house has been thoroughly refitted 
and furnished with every regard to comfort and luxury; has 
hot and cold water with baths and closets on each floor. The 
aim has been to make this the inost unexceptionable first-class 
hotel in Montreal. Messrs. Browne & Perley, the proprietors, 
have had long experience in first-class hotels in the United 
States and Canada ; and guests can be sure of every attention 
and comfort. The St. Lawrence Hall, corner of St. James 
and St. Francois Xavier streets, is a large hotel much affected 
by English tourists, and the St. James, on the street of the 
same name, fronting Victoria square, is a quiet and coinfort- 
able house. But the Ottawa will be most satisfactory to 
Americans, being kept in the style of hotels in " the States," 
and provided with all modern conveniences. 



II' 



^^O TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

Public Squares and Buildings. 

Victoria square, in the center of the city, at the intersection 
of McGill and St. James streets, is a prettj enclosure with a 
fountain in the center, and fronting- St. James street, stands a 
bronze statue of Her Majestj^ This admirable work of 
art, was erected on the 21st of November, 1872, and pre- 
sented to the Citj' by His Excellency the Governor General. 
The cost of the statue, including that of the pedestal, — the 
gift of the Corporation, — was $13,000. The Place d'Armes, 
a prettj little garden enclosed with an iron fence, fills a square 
between St. James and Notre Dame streets, and upon it, (on 
the latter street), fronts the magnificent cathedral of Notre 
Dame. The Champ de Mars, on Craig street, at the end of 
St. James, is a famous promenade for citizens and strangers, 
being the general parade and review ground of the military, 
and is frequently enlivened during the summer evenings by 
music from the fine bands of the regiments. Viger Square 
near the Champ de Mars, is beautifully laid out into a garden, 
Avith conservator}', fountains. The Place Jacques Cartier, a 
broad, steep street, running from Notre Dame to the Bonsecour 
pier, is surmounted at its highest point by a tall column 
known as the Nelson monument, which was originally quite 
pretentious, but is now in a rather dilapidated condition. 
Among the public buildings worthy of especial note, are the 
new Court House, on Notre Dame Street, and directly oppo- 
site to Nelson's Monument, of elegant cut stone, in the Gre- 
cian-Ionic style ; the Post-Ofiiice, on St. James Street, a beau- 
tiful cut-stone building; the Merchants' Exchange, on St. 
Sacrament Street; the Mechanics' Institute, a very fine build- 
incr, situated on St. James Street, of cut stone, three stories 
high, built in the Italian stj'le ; the Mercantile Librarj^ Asso- 
ciation Building, Bonaventure Street; the Bank of Montreal, 
Place d'Armes, St. James Street, opposite the Cathedral, an 
elegant cut-stone building of the Corinthian order; the City 
Bank, next to the above, in the Grecian style of cut stone; 
the bank of British North America, St. James Street, next to 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 25 1 

the Post Office, a handsome building of cut stone, in the 
Composite style of architecture ; Molson's Bank, St. James 
Street, a handsome structure ; the Bonsecours Market, on St. 
Paul and Water Streets, a magnificent edifice in the Grecian- 
Doric style, cost about $300,000, and contains the various 
offices of the city; the McGill College, an institution of very 
high repute, founded by the Hon. James McGill, who be- 
queathed a valuable estate and £10,000 for its endowment; 
the Old Government House, Notre Dame Street, now occu- 
pied as the Normal School ; the Barracks ; the Custom House, 
St. Paul Street; Hotel-Dieu Hospital, Sherbrooke Street; 
and many others. The Lachine Canal is among the public 
works of which the city may feel proud. 

Churches and Religious Institutions. 

Of these there are many and notable. The French Cathe- 
dral of Notre Dame, fronting on the Place d' Armes is per- 
haps the one which first attracts the visitor. It is the largest 
on this continent, seating 10,000 persons. It is 255 feet long 
by 144 wide and has two towers on its front, each 220 feet 
high. From the top of one of these towers, to ascend which 
a fee of 25 cents entitles the visitor, a magnificent view is 
gained of the city, the river, spanned by the Victoria bridge, 
and alive with shipping, the islands and the American shore. 
In this tower hangs the bell " Gros Bourdon," the largest in 
America, weighing 15 tons, and in the other tower is a fine 
chime of bells. The Church of the Gesu, or Jesuit church, 
on Bleury street, is famed for the magnificence of its interior 
decorations, especially its frescoes, portraits of saints and 
altar-pieces. The nave is 75 feet high and the roof is sus- 
tained by rich composite columns. St. Patrick's church on 
Lagauchetiere street, is 240 by 90 feet, with a spire 225 feet 
high. Christ Church Cathedral (English) a splendid Gothic 
church on Catherine street, is cruciform, with a stone spire 
224 feet high from the centre of the cross. It is of Caen and 
Montreal stone, and is lighted by stained glass windows, sev- 



252 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

eral of which are very beautiful memorial offerings. The roof 
is sustained bj elegantly carved Caen stone pillars. In the 
vestry is a bust of Bishop Fulford and a painting of the Rev. 
John Bethune, for many years rector. In the enclosure out- 
side, is a fine monument to Bishop Fulford. Adjoining is a 
chapter-house and library. There are besides almost innu- 
merable churches — Episcopal, Catholic and Presbyterian 
•predominating, all of stone and all costly and handsome. On 
Dorchester street, an immense new Catholic cathedral, to be 
a copy ot St. Peter's at Rome, but smaller, is slowly building, 
and near by is the Bishop's Palace. Of the nunneries, that 
of the Grey Nuns on Guy street, near Dorchester, is most 
visited. It is customary to be here a few minutes before noon 
and take seats in the chapel, where, af the stroke of 12 the 
nuns enter in procession, kneel and chant the prescribed 
prayers, in a subdued, sing-song tone of voice that is unspeak- 
ably depressing. Afterwards, visitors are conducted over the 
immense building, along acres of halls with floors scoured to 
the whiteness of snow, into the departments of the paupers, 
imbeciles and foundlings, through the artificial flower rooms, 
the laundry and other departments. 

The Drive Around the Mountain. 

By far the most delightful excursion is that around Mount 
Royal, over a splendid macadamized road, making a trip of 
nine miles. Ascending on the east side and passing around 
to the north and west, a magnificent view is gained of the 
valley of the Ottawa, the hamlet of Charleroi with its convent 
and church, with other villages nestling in the fertile valley, 
and the beautiful villas here and there dotting the mountain 
side. On the back side of the mountain are several tanneries, 
around which quite a little French hamlet has sprung up, and 
near by is the Half- Way House, where your driver will not, 
probably, refuse to take a glass of '"alf and 'alf," or " shandy 
gaff" at your expense. [N. B. — If you ever " take anything," 
yourself, you will find it good.] On the way towards town 



TOURISTS' HAND BOO It. 253 

on the west side, the entrance to Mount Royal Cemetery, the 
French burying ground, is passed, and it is often visited by 
strangers. The sight of a procession of hearses, which have 
come here with as many funerals, racing on their way back to 
town, seems odd to any one but a native, yet it is often seen. 
The hearses for children are here very handsome — snow 
white with figures of angels at the corners and profusely orna- 
mented. A little further down, the carriage stops and you 
step out upon a broud platform, whence the ovitlook upon the 
broad St. Lawrence, with Nun's Island rising far away in 
the distance, is very fine. To the south, lie the blue hills of 
Vermont, and at our very feet nestle the imposing buildings 
of Montreal. Returning to the city, it will be worth while to 
drive through Sherbrooke street and admire them any beauti- 
ful residences with their extensive grounds. Those of Mr. 
Brydges, Mr. Redpatii and Sir Hugh Allan, (the last far up 
the mountain side and reached by a long private avenue), are 
among the finest in this vicinity. Still further down town, 
Dorchester street has many splendid mansions, — that of Mr. 
Harrison Stevens, the owner of the Ottawa Hotel property, 
being perhaps the finest. The house is completely surrounded 
by a lovely park, with dense folliage, shady walks, clumps 
and mounds of flowers, statuary, fountains, etc. On the 
corner of University street is the St. James Club, a large and 
elegant establishment. In the winter, when the mountain 
roads are deeply covered with snow, and when the fences are 
invisible beneath the icy crust, a favorite sport is '* snow- 
shoeing." Clubs of young men with their snow shoes start 
out of a moonlight evening for a tramp of a dozen or fifteen 
miles, and return with tired limbs, flushed cheeks and pro- 
digious appetites. Coasting down the mountain on sleds is 
also a favorite Montreal amusement, as is skating. 

Next in interest to the drive around the mountain is that on 
the Lachine road, leading to the village of that name, nine 
miles from the city. The road is directly along the banks of 
the river, presenting scenery of unsurpassed beauty and 



254 TOURISTS' handbook:. 

grandeur. It is a lovelj drive. If the proper hour is 
selected, a view maj be had of the descent of the steamer 
over the rapids. Another favorite drive in the immediate 
vicinity is to Longue Pointe, being in an opposite direction 
froin the last, and down the bank of the river. 

The Kiver Commerce of Montreal. 

An immense volumeof wealth pours Into Montreal, through 
the St. Lawrence, that great funnel with its mouth to the 
northeast, and its outlet in Lake Ontario. Besides the lines of 
steamers above Montreal, there are the Richelieu Company's 
steamers "Quebec" and "Montreal," for Quebec, daily; the 
Union Steamboat Company's steamers "Abyssinian" and 
" Athenian " for the same point ; the Ottawa River Navigation 
Company's boats "Peerless," "Prince of Wales," "Q^ieen 
Victoria," and "Princess," for Ottawa, twice daily; the Allan 
Line Ocean Steamships for Quebec, Liverpool and Glasgow, 
twice each week; the Dominion Line Steamships for Qiiebec 
and Liverpool, weekly, and the Temperley Line of Steam- 
ships for Qiiebec and London, every two weeks. The Grand 
Trunk Railway radiating in every direction except north, 
affords land communication with the western cities, Boston, 
New York and Qiiebec. 

Down the River to Quebec. 

By far the most delightful voyage from Montreal is that down 
the St. Lawrence to Qj.iebec, and if we wish a good night's 
rest, and fine views of the river at either end of it, (the night's 
rest, not the river,) and a sight of Qiiebec, by sunrise, we will 
embark, in the afternoon, on either of the Richelieu or Union 
steamers named above, and continue down the river, the first 
place passed being Longueil, a small village on the. south bank 
of the river, 3 miles below Montreal. Fifteen miles below 
Montreal is Varennes, situated between the St. Lawrence and 
Richelieu Rivers. It is connected with Montreal by a line of 
steamers, and is attracting attention on account of its mineral 



TOZTRISTS^ HANDBOOK. 2^5 

Springs. The first stopping place is at Sorel, forty-five miles 
below Montreal, at the mouth of the Richelieu, having in the 
vicinity good fishing, and snipe-shooting. Just below, the 
river expands into Lake St. Peter, 25 miles long, and 9 miles 
wide. Half way between Montreal and Quebec is the town of 
Trois Rivieres, at the mouth of St. Maurice. This is one of 
the oldest towns in Canada, is the residence of a Catholic 
bishop, and has a cathedral and convent. Thirty miles from 
Trois Rivieres is the mouth of the Shawenegan River ; and 
a little above, on the St. Maurice River, are the Shawenegan 
Falls, where the water leaps down 150 feet perpendicularly. 
The last place at which steamers stop before reaching Quebec 
is Batiscan. In passing down the St. Lawrence from Mon- 
treal, the countrj^ upon its banks presents a sameness in its 
general scenery, until we approach the vicinity of Quebec. 
The villages and hamlets are decidedly French in character, 
and are generally made up of small buildings, the better class 
of which are painted white, or whitewashed, with red roofs. 
Proininem in the distance appear the tin-covered spires of the 
Catholic churches, which form the central figures of each of 
the villages. As we near Qtiebec, we see the banks of the 
north shore of the river become more bold and finally pre- 
cipitous, and the houses nestle at the foot of the bluft's at the 
edge. The rafts of timber afford a highly-interesting feature 
on the river. On each a shed is built for the raftsmen, some 
of whom rig out their huge, unwieldy craft with gay stream- 
ers, which flutter from the tops of poles. Thus, when several 
of these rafts are grappled together, forming, as it were, a 
floating island of timber, half a mile wide and a inile long, 
the sight is extremely picturesque. Myriads of these rafts 
may be seen lying in the coves at Quebec, ready to be shipped 
to the different parts of the world. In the early morning, we 
look out upon a wall of rock rising above us on the left bank, 
like a mountain range, and at its base acres of these rafts are 
mooi-ed. Soon we round a lofty bluff* to the left; we catch a 
glimpse of a mighty cliff, capped bj a noble fortress, and in a 



256 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

moment Qiiebec is before us. In five minutes more we land 
on the quay. 

Tlie City of Quebec and its History. 

Quebec, the great historic fortress of North America, what 
associations of romance and tradition throng the mind of the 
visitor who first gazes upon " the walled city ! " Even in that 
name, "walled city," there is something so mediaeval, so old- 
worldish, that it seems more a dream than a reality that it is 
before us. The first view of the historic city, in the radiance 
of early morning, is most inspiring and brilliant. The bold, 
massive headland of Cape Diamond juts a wall of eternal 
rock into the river. Perched on its suminit is the gray old 
citadel, frowning down upon the river and the town, which 
latter clings to the sides of the mountain and clusters round 
its base, as if ever vainly trying to creep to the top, and ever 
slipping down. The roofs and steeples, sheathed in glittering 
tin, shine in the sun as if of burnished gold, while the green 
slopes of the glacis leading up to the citadel look like a velvet 
curtain ready to be drawn over the dazzling show. With the 
landing at the quay all the romance vanishes. You awake to 
the fact of narrow, dirty streets, importunate cabmen and 
shaky calashes, which make one seasick to look at, and nearly 
shake one into an omelet to ride in. By a street only less 
steep than the roofs of the houses, you are conveyed part way 
up the clifi", to the " upper town," which hangs midway be- 
tween the citadel and the river, and which only the most per- 
sistent belaboring and a shocking waste of artistic profanity 
(in French Canadian jbatots) can induce the liprses to sur- 
mount. It is evident there is no S. for the P. of C to A. in 
Quebec. You reach your hotel, the St. Louis, on the street of 
the same name, or the Russell House on Garden street, both 
kept by Willis Russell, Esq., and excellent houses; and after 
a hearty breakfast, are ready for a tour of the city or a drive 
into the environs. You will have plenty of offers of calashes, 
coaches and cabs, but the best plan is to select a nice looking, 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK^ 2^7 

English-speaking driver, with a clean one-horse hack, and 
make a solemn compact with him to drive jou wherever jou 
want to go and be as long as jou desire about it, for so much 
an hour. You can make the terms easy and can afford a long 
drive. 

A Short Chapter of History. 

The citj of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain, 
in 1608. In 1622 the population was reduced to fifty souls. In 
June, 1759, the English army under General Wolfe landed 
upon the Island of Orleans. On the 12th September took 
place the celebrated battle of the Plains of Abraham, which 
resulted in the death of Wolfe and Montcalm, and defeat of 
the French army. A force of five thousand English troops 
under Gen. Murray was left to garrison the fort, and in April 
following was besieged by the Chevalier de Levis and his re- 
organized French army. In a sortie of Murray, he lost 1000 
men and 20 cannon, and had to retire again within the walls. 
The coming of an English fleet raised the siege, and the 
Treaty of Paris gave Quebec to England. On New Year's 
Eve, December 31, 1775, Generals Montgomery and Arnold, 
with a force of New England and Continential troops, at- 
tempted to storm Quebec, but Montgomery fell at the head of 
the forlorn hope, (a sign on the rock above points out the 
spot) and Arnold's men were hemmed in and a part of them 
captured. Since then the city has dwelt in peace, though its 
magnificent fortifications have been preserved and stregth- 
ened until within a few years, the home government has with- 
drawn the regular troops, and the wall has been partially dis- 
mantled. 

The Walls and Fortifications. 

Quebec is nearly triangular in form, built upon the crest 
and around the base of Cape Diamond, a lofty headland ris- 
ing from the intersection of the St. Charles and St. Lawrence 
rivers, in an almost perpendicular clifi" from 100 to '200 feet 
high. On the brow of this clift' the walls are built of solid 



25^ TOURISTS' HANJDBOOk. 

hewn stone, bastioned and loopholed, and at the angles and 
salient points, batteries of artillery are placed. Two sides of 
the triangle of Cape Diamond are thus guarded. On the 
landward side, far up above the citj proper, the triangle is 
completed bj a line of wonderfully strong Avorks, consisting 
of rainparts, ditches and outworks, while at the corner, near- 
est the St. Lawrence and on the very apex of Cape Diamond, 
350 feet above the river, stands the Citadel. Since the regu- 
lars were withdrawn, a small body of Dominion artillery 
garrisons the Citadel, and visitors are shown over it. From 
the northerly bastion the view of the river, the new fortifica- 
tions at Pointe Levis on the south shore ; of the city and 
suburbs and the valley of the St. Charles, is magnificent. The 
works of the citadel are the wonder of engineers and military 
inen. Underneath the ramparts on which we stand are case- 
mates, now used as barracks, and beneath them yet another tier; 
at each angle is an Armstrong hundred pounder, and all around 
heavy ordnance frowns through dark embrasure. The pro- 
visions for the storage of ammunition and supplies are won- 
derful, and the number of men which can here be accommo- 
dated and utilized as a garrison seems incredible to anj^ but 
militarj^ visitors, Outside the Citadel are the "old French 
works," now in ruins, and a line of martello towers, four in 
number. These extend across the peninsula, and are con- 
nected by underground passages with the Citadel. Originally, 
access from any direction to the " Upper Town," as the enclo- 
sure inside the walls is called, was through five gates, — mas- 
sive stone arches, with iron doors, protected by powerful 
works and armaments. Of these, the St. Louis gate, near 
the covered way communicating with the Citadel, was the 
entrance from the Plains of Abraham, by the Grande Allee ; 
the St. John's Gate, on the street of the same name, towards 
the St. Charles, was the entrance way of the St. Foy road ; 
the Palace Gate, on the street of the same name, led down 
into the Lower Town near the St. Charles ; the Hope Gate, 
on St. Famille street, 900 feet east of the Palace Gate, led to 



TOURISTS' HANiDBOOK: 259 

the wharves of the harbor, and the Prescott Gate, on Moun- 
tain street, barred the waj up from the Lower Town market 
and the steamboat piers. All these gates, except the St. 
John's, which was rebuilt in 1S67, have been removed on ac- 
count of their obstruction of business. The walls have also 
been lowered, and a portion of the armament removed. 
The Public Buildings of Quebec. 
The Parliament House, where sits the Provincial Legisla- 
ture, is a large old building, overlooking the former site of 
the Prescott Gate. On the ramparts in front of this building 
is the Grand Batterj of (22) 32-pounders. But a short dis- 
tance south, is the Durham Terrace, a broad, level platform 
of wood, with an iron railing on the river side, which rests on 
massive cut stone, on the very verge of the cliff. These foun- 
dations were those of the Chateau St. Louis, the first building 
in Quebec, of which Champlain laid the corner stone May 6, 
1624. January 23, 1S34, the castle was burned, and bj Lord 
Durham's order the ruins were cleared awaj and this terrace 
built. It is the fashionable promenade, and in the evening 
the views of the river are very fine. From the terrace we 
may look down into the houses in the Lower Town, and 
might alinost toss a stone into their back windows. The 
Governor's Garden is near by. It is a rather neglected little 
park, with gravel walks and a few benches. Its principal 
feature is a plain, tall obelisk, known as the "Wolfe and 
Montcalm's Monument," the foundation stone of which was 
laid by Lord Dalhousie, with imposing ceremonies, on 
Thursday, November 15, 1827. The monument is from a 
design by Major Young of the Seventy-Ninth, and cost up- 
wards of £700. Being 65 feet in height, it is a striking object 
from the river, rising as it does clear from the garden. It 
bears two inscriptions ; one of them by Dr. J. Charlton 
Fisher, as follows : — 

"Mortem Virtus Communem 
Famam Historia, 
Monumentum posteritas 
Dedit." 



2.6o TOtlRISTS* HANDBOOK. 

The Lower Governor's Garden is separated from the one 
just described bj Rue des Carrieres, and has a masked battery 
for its principal feature. The Place d'Armes is a neat little 
garden, with a fountain, near the Durham Terrace, and the 
Anglican Cathedral, a large, plain old structure of stone, in 
which are the tomb of the Duke of Richmond, who died 
while Governor General of Canada, in 1819, and the monu- 
ment of Bishop Mountain. The church has a fine communion 
service presented by George III, and a chime of bells, which 
the " artist" in charge jangles most horribly on Sundays. It 
contains many memorial tablets, mostly to British officers 
who have died while on duty here. The Catholic Cathedral 
of the Immaculate Conception fronts the Market Square near 
by, and is a fine old structure with some valuable pictures, 
among which one of Christ by Van Dyck is the finest. The 
Seminary, founded by Bishop Laval, and the University which 
bears his name, join the Cathedral on the northeast. The 
University has a library of 50,000 volumes and a splendid 
museum, and the Seminary has a quaint old chapel with some 
fine paintings. There are about 400 students, who wear a 
peculiar uniform. The market square is worth visiting on 
market days, for the quaint, old country pictures it presents. 
On the other side of the square are the Jesuit Barracks, so 
called, originally built for a college in 1646, but since 1759 
used as quarters for troops. On Garden street, near by, is 
the Ursuline Convent, which with its gardens covers seven 
acres. In the chapel rest the remains of Montcalm. 

The Suburbs of Quebec. 
Passing out through the St. John Gate, we traverse the 
suburb of St. John, much the most modern and thriving look- 
ing part of the city. It lies on the high ground outside the 
walls, and contains many fine dwellings, stores and modern 
churches. Steep streets lead down to the suburb of St. Rochs, 
where are the Marine and General Hospitals, imposing and 
extensive institutions. This part of the city was ravaged by 
fire and almost annihilated some years ago. 



TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 26 1 

Bj the Grande Allee, we traverse the historic Plains of 
Abraham, a loftj plateau on the landward slope of Cape Dia- 
mond, outside the citadel. At the time of the great battle 
identified with the name, the whole heights, or plains as they 
are indifferently called, extended from the walls to the woods 
of Sillery and St. Foy, and were bounded on one side by the 
St. Lawrence and on the other by the St. Charles. Since 
then, great encroachments have been made ; the suburbs of 
St. Louis and St. John occupy great portions ; and the name 
Plains has for a numberof years been confined to an enclosed 
place, which is now a race-course. Sic transitl Near by is the 
jail, a substantial, cosey looking structure, and near that, the 
Wolfe monument — a plain circular column, rising from a 
square pedestal, and surmounted by a sword and helinet. On 
the one side of the pedestal is an inscription, as follows : 

HERE DIED 

WOLFE 

VICTORIOUS 

Sept. 13 
1759' 
And on the other side 

THIS PILLAR 
WAS ERECTED BY THE 

BRITISH ARMY ♦ 

IN CANADA, 1849. 

HIS EXCELLENCY 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL 

SIR BENJAMIN D'URBAIN 

G. C. B., K. C. H., K. C. T. S., ETC. 

COMMANDER OF THE FORCES. 

TQ REPLACE THAT ERECTED BY 

GOVERNOR GENERAL LORD AYLMER, G. C. B., 

IN 1832, 

WHICH WAS BROKEN AND DEFACED, 

AND IS DEPOSITED BENEATH. 

The Cap Rouge road, on which we now enter, is a pleasant 
drive, bordered by fine villas. Spencer Wood, a magnificent 
park, with concrete driveways half a mile long, lighted all the 
way by street lamps, and with all the pomp of a feudal domain 



262 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

about it, is the residence of the Provincial Lieutenant Governor. 
Knowing this, it is a disappointment to find that his mansion 
is an old, yellow barrack, with no pretensions to beauty, out- 
wardly, at least. Visitors often cross irom this point to 8t. Foy 
road and return to the city by the St. John's Gate, 'passing on 
the left the '* Monument aux Braves," a tall column, sur- 
mounted by a statue of Bellona, presented by Prince Napo- 
leon. This monument marks the scene of the second battle 
of the Plains, where Murray was defeated by De Levis as 
already described, and was erected in 1854 ^J ^^e French resi- 
dents, over the remains of hundreds of their blood who fell 
in that conflict. 

The Indian village of Lorette, near the falls of the same 
name, nine miles inland, is often visited ; so also are the 
Chaudiere Falls, 350 feet wide and 150 feet high, 18 miles 
from Pointe Levis, on the south side of the river. 

The Falls of Montmorenci. 

But the most interesting of the wonders near Qviebec, are 
the Falls of Montmorenci, eight miles from the city by the 
Beauport road. Crossing the St. Charles, we follow the bank 
of the St. Lawrence at some distance, passing several hand- 
some villas and chateux, and an old mansion house, now in 
ruins, where Montcalm had his head-quarters at one time. 
Beauport is a long village, on both sides the road, with no 
particular beginning nor ending, and notable for its French- 
ness in cottages, people and dialect; also for the crowds of 
children who run beside your carriage, with bunches of flow- 
ers which they expect you to accept — in return for small 
siver coin. The Falls are seen by dismounting and traversing 
a field a short distance to a pavilion, which brings us face to 
face with the cataract. Here the Montmorenci river plunges 
down a perpendicular precipice 250 feet high, into a tre- 
mendous yawning gorge, with a roar that is heard for a 
long distance. So abrupt is the fall that the water is beaten 
into perfect foam, and looks more like a sheet of wool hung 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 263 

on the face of the rock than a cataract of water. Just above 
the Falls are the towers of a suspension bridge, which spanned 
the river, but soon fell and pitched three persons into the 
chasm below. They were killed. 

Ste. Anne, 24 miles below Quebec, is visited by steamer if 
one chooses to make the excursion. Its objects of interest 
are several picturesque falls, lofty inountains and a pretty little 
pilgrimage-church, where the relics of Ste. Anne are exhibited, 
and whereby many wonderful cures of the sick are reported. 
There are also many other excursions from Quebec, if we 
have time and inclination. They will be suggested by the 
driver. 

The Lower St. Lawrence and the Saguenay. 

The tour of the Lower St. Lawrence and the Saguenay is 
made from Quebec by the steamers of the Saguenay Com- 
pany, whose office is on St. Louis street, opposite the hotel, 
Stevenson and Leve, agents. The clerk in charge, Mr. 
Stocking, is an American and a white man, which is praise 
enough. The boats leave every morning except Sunday and 
Monday, and make the round trip in 48 hours. Or we may 
take the Grand Trunk to the mouth of the river, and then go 
up by steamer to Grand Bay (or Ha, Ha ! Bay, as it is also 
called.) The Saguenay river is formed by a junction of two 
outlets of the St. John Lake, a body of water covering 500 
square miles, and lying in the wilderness 125 miles northwest 
of Tadousac. Up towards the lake there are magnificent cas- 
cades, where the water dashes along between banks of solid 
rock from 100 to 1,000 feet high. Ha-ha Bay, which is 60 
miles from its inouth, affords the first landing and anchorage 
for steamers. The Saguenay boats. Union, St. Lawrence and 
Saguenay, are small, but comfortable and well found boats, 
and the fare is excellent. From Quebec to the mouth of the 
Saguenay, the scenery of the lower St. Lawrence is magnifi- 
cent. On a late summer's day, when the sun shines brightly, 
owing to some peculiarly atmospheric condition, the land- 



264 TOURISTS^ HANDBOOK. 

scape is overspread with a soft haze, and the view across the 
glassy water, to the rolling hills and gentle slopes of the 
southern bank strikingly resembles, in its mellow, dreamy 
softness, an Italian landscape. On the north side of the 
river, which the boat hugs most of the way, the scenery 
is grand and rugged, a lofty, precipitous mountain range 
extending all along; the cliffs, rising abruptly from the water's 
edge, being generally densely wooded with evergreens, and 
frequently threaded with sparkling waterfalls. At St. Paul's 
Bay, we make a stop alongside a fishing schooner, anchored 
in deep water — the shoals inshore prohibiting a nearear ap- 
proach — exchange mails, land a passenger or two, and are 
off again. At Eboulements and Murray Bay, stops are also 
made. Then we dart across the river to Riviere du Loup, on 
the south shore, where is a popular Canadian watering-place, 
and which also serves as the landing for Cacouna, the New- 
port of the Dominion. Here we meet the other boat of the 
line, on her return trip from the Saguenay. Again, crossing 
the river abruptly, we are soon alongside a little pier at 
Tadousac, just within the mouth of the Saguenay, and the 
captain gives us an hour's " leave on shore." If Cacouna be 
the Newport, Tadousac is the Long Branch of the Dominion. 
Here Lord Dufferin, the Governor-General, has a summer 
home, emulating the Chief Magistrate of the States in the 
choice of a summer capital, by the sounding sea. The St. 
Lawrence, at this point, is quite a sea in size, and, as its 
waters are salt, and the tides flow and ebb, " sea bathing" is 
one of the advertised attractions. There is a fine hotel at the 
head of a crescent-shaped bay on the St. Lawrence side of a 
jutting point, and quite a group of Summer cottages on the 
bluff above. 

The Mysterious Hiver. 

But we have come to see the Saguenay and not to revel in 
the enjoyments of Tadousac, and soon we are speeding up 
that mysterious river, just as the sun is sinking behind the 




12 



266 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

grand and gloomy cliffs which confine it. We have noticed, 
even before our landing atTadousac, that the water has grown 
as black as ink, almost, and we find it to rival Day & Martin, 
as soon as we are fairly inside the point. This peculiarity, 
they tell us, is due to the river's flowing through hemlock and 
tamarack swamps. We observe that the churning of our pad- 
dle wheels produces, not white froth, but something resem- 
bling coffee cream. We have been prepared for a wild and 
startling panorama, for fathomless waters and precipitous, 
overhanging walls of rock, but the reality surpasses the de- 
scription, and, when the moon comes out and throws her 
silver radiance across the gloomy depths beneath us, and 
tinges with pale splendor the bare, gray cliffs above, the effect 
is strangely weird and unreal. The banks present a continual 
succession of pictured rocks and towering precipices, " It is 
as if the mountain range had been cleft asunder, leaving a 
horrid gulf 60 miles long and 4000 feet deep through the gray 
mica schist." Among the points of greatest note on the 
Saguenay, may be named Statue Point, an immense perpen- 
dicular rock below Ha-ha Bay, which rises 600 feet, with sides 
as smooth as if polished by a skillful workman. " Statue 
Point has a huge Gothic arch, opening into a vast cave, which 
it is said, the foot of man never trod. Before the entrance to 
this black aperture a gigantic rock, like the statue of some 
dead Titan, once stood. A few years ago, during the winter, 
it gave way; and the monstrous figure came crushing down 
through the ice of the Saguenay, and left bare to view the en- 
trance to the cavern it had guarded perhaps for ages." Be- 
yond this is the vast Tableau Rock, a sheet of dark- colored 
limestone, some 600 feet high by 300 wide, as straight and al- 
most as smooth as a mirror. 

Ha, Ha ! Bay 

About midnight we arrive at Ha, Ha! Bay and take on 
wood, which generally occupies the rest of the night, as the 
French deck hands are not used to hurrying, and besides, the 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 267 

passengers want to see the baj by early morning light. Ha, 
Ha ! Baj is a broad expanse of smooth water, shut in on all 
sides save one by rugged and almost inaccessible cliffs. This 
bay is a pocket, opening from the right bank of the river, and 
is said to be seven miles deep. At the bottom of the pocket 
is a strip of low land, which has been impi^oved by the loca- 
tion of two little hamlets, named respectively St Alphonse 
and St. Alexis. The latter is the larger, but the landing is at 
the former. Each is a cluster of little cabins, in the centre of 
which is a small church. About a mile from the landing is a 
salmon river, where in the season the salmon may be seen by 
scores, leaping, like animated bars of silver, to the height of 
several feet, in the attempt to surmount the falls. This sal- 
mon river, like most in the Dominion, is rented out by Gov- 
ernment, the lessee being a Mr. Price, who owns a vast lum- 
ber territory, up this way, and seems to number nearly all the 
inhabitants among his employes. About all the pay they get 
comes in the form of provisions and clothing from his stores. 

To the Head of TSTavigation and Back Again. 

Starting on our way again we proceed out of the bay and up 
the river, through a tortuous and difficult channel, to Chicou- 
timi, the head of navigation. Above Ha, Ha ! Bay, the shores 
of the river are less abrupt, frequent fertile slopes and green 
valleys appear, and there are many habitations. Chicoutimi 
is the metropolis of this region. Here is Mr. Price's lumber 
entrepot, and here he has two of his stores. Large barques lie 
at anchor in the channel, loading with the staple commodity 
sawn at the mills on the Chicoutimi river, which here empties 
into the Saguenay. Chicoutimi consists of a long, straggling 
street, lined with small houses, mostly of logs, a barn-like 
frame church, a nunnery, the residence of the priest and those 
of Mr. Price and his brother ; the last three being quite com- 
fortable houses. It is a most lonesome and desolate metro- 
polis, and its most lonesome and desolate feature is the little 
graveyard beside the church, with its wooden headboards, bear- 



268 TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 

ing French inscriptions in black paint. Upon the most sightly 
prominence overlooking the river, are rising the walls of a 
large stone building, which we are told is to be a Catholic col- 
lege. Fancy a college in these wilds ! After an hour or two 
spent in seeing the sights of Chicoutimi, we start on our return. 
Its incidents are not worth record till about 2 p. m., when we 
reach the wonder of the region, the great object which we 
have borne in mind during the whole trip, but which we have 
not before seen, as we passed it in the night on our up trip — 
Eternity Bay. 

The "Wonder of Wonders. 

As we near this spot, the overhanging cliffs grow higher, 
the whole panorama wilder, and by degrees our eyes are edu- 
cated to a proper appreciation of the great marvel. We are 
sailing in fathomless waters between walls of rock, towering 
hundreds of feet above us, and gradually increasing to near 
2,000 feet from the water's edge, when just in the highest part 
the wall is cleft asunder, and a broad inlet makes into the 
land. That is Eternity Bay. The steam is shut off, the 
vessel's head turned to the right, and slowly she drifts into 
the bay. To our right is a Titanic cliff, at first descending in 
three gigantic steps to the water's edge, but, as we round the 
point, its face becomes one sheer, perpendicular surface of 
rock, veined and streaked with red and black, as if the solid 
mountain had been split asunder, and the very heart of the 
rock exposed. Its upper edge bears the shape of three domes, 
set side by side, justifying the title of Cape Trinity. Here we 
drift along, while the steamer's whistle is blown and a small 
cannon fired, the blasts and the report coming back to us in 
marvellously distinct echoes. A box of small stones is brought 
out, and we try to throw a pebble across the apparently insig- 
nificant expanse of water between us and the cliff, but in vain. 
Such is the deception in distance, due to the overpowering 
height of the cape, that the strongest arm fails to compass it. 
We could remain here for hours, and every moment gain a 



TOURISTS* HANDBOOiC. 269 

better appreciation of the majesty of the scene, but time fails, 
and the steam is again applied, and the boat's head turned 
riverward. As we pass out of the bay, Cape Eternity looms 
above us, the twin sentinel of the wonder we have just left, 
less rugged and harsh, but even more massive and higher by 
100 feet. Its loftiest wall towers 1,800 feet perpendicularly 
above the dark water of the river, which is here said to be a 
mile and a quarter in depth. These are the marvels of our 
journey, and they passed, nothing remains to excite our won- 
der. The rest of our voyage is but a repetition of what we 
have already seen. We reach the mouth of the river at night- 
fall, and the next morning we again land at Quebec. 

Other Trips from Quebec. 

From Quebec, we may — if we desire a longer trip, and one 
which will give us a view of the wild and majestic scenery of 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the boundless expanse of the 
North Atlantic — take passage by one of the splendid steam- 
ships of the Quebec and Gulf Ports Steamship Company, of 
which, also, Stevenson & Leve are agents, — the "Secret," 
" Miramichi," or " Georgia," — for Shediac, Pictou, or Char- 
lottetown. On the trip we shall see Perce, with its famous 
arched rock rising from the waters, and affording a passage 
for the waves; the Isle of Orleans ; Father Point; Chaleur, 
Miramichi, and Gaspe Bays. From Shediac or Pictou we may 
return to Boston by Intercolonial, European and North Amer- 
ican, Maine Central and Eastern Railways, passing through 
St. John, N. B., Bangor, Augusta and Portland, Me. A 
more delightful winding up of a summer trip could not be 
imagined. Or we may cross the St. Lawrence to Pointe 
Levis, take the Grand Trunk Railway cars and, passing 
through Richmond Junction, continue our journey to Port- 
land, Me., and thence hjome; or to Newport, Vt., and thence 
to the White Mountains or directly to Boston. Or we may 
return to Montreal and thence take one of the already de- 
scribed routes to Boston. 



IIP ®F flE Wilf 1 lOTIMII 1E§IW, 




RAILROADS. 



STAGE LINES. 




CHAPTER XIT. 
The "White Mountains. 



^^^ F ROUTES to the White 
Mountains there are 
manj. We have already 
in imagination traversed 
several ; but we will now 
approach " the Switzer- 
land of America " from 
the north, en route to our 
Boston homes. From 
G^uebec, as we have al- 
ready said, the trip is 
made via Newport, Vt, 
but unless one wishes to 
stay awhile at Lake Mem- 
W' phremagog, this route is 
not convenient, the con- 
nections being uncertain 
and far from "close." 
From Montreal, there 
are three routes from which to choose : one by the Grand 
Trunk Railway from St. Lambert via Richmond Junction to 
Littleton, 187, or Bethlehem, 199 miles from Boston; the 
second, via South-eastern and Connecticut and Passumpsic 




:272 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



Rivers Railroads from St. John's, down through Newport to 
Wells River, Vt., and thence up to Littleton or Bethlehem; 
the third bj the main line, through St. Albans to Essex Junc- 
tion, thence bj Central Vermont down to White River Junc- 
tion, then up through Wells River to Littleton or Bethlehem. 
Arrived at the railway terminus, — whichever of the two last- 
named stations we choose as our point of approach to the 
mountains, — we transfer ourselves to the six-horse stage- 




THE PROFILE, OR "OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN." 



coach which conveys us to the Profile House, in the very heart 
of the Franconia Notch. This hotel stands on a plateau of 
level ground in the midst of the great hills, and at the very 
foot of Eagle Cliff, a towering crag, which seems to threaten 
the house below, and takes its name from the fact that a few 
years ago a pair of splendid eagles made it their home. The 
view down the Notch, with its sentinel peaks on either hand, 
is grand and imposing. Echo Lake is one of the noted feat- 



fOlJRiSTS' HANDBOOK. ' 273 

ures of the Franconia Notch, a diminutive but very deep 
pond, entirely environed by mountains. From its centre a 
voice, the notes of a horn, or the discharge of a fire-arm, 
will awake a perfect chorus of echoes many times repeated. 

Profile or Cannon Mountain derives its names from the re- 
semblance of a pile of rocks on its summit to a mounted 
cannon, 2,000 feet above the road, double that height above 
the sea level, and directly opposite Eagle Cliff, forming the 
western side of the Notch ; and from the Profile on the 
southern extremity of its crest. This " Great Stone Face," 
immortalized in literature by Hawthorne, and familiar to all 
visitors as the " Old Man of the Mountain," is eighty feet from 
the point of the chin to the top of the forehead ; and it is 
placed 1200 to 1500 feet above the road. Three masses of 
rock form this profile, which is clearly cut and entirely dis- 
tinct, with a high, stern forehead, prominent nose, lips just 
parted, and a massive chin. At the foot of this mountain lies 
the lovely little Profile Lake, called also the " Old Man's Wash 
Bowl." Bald Mountain is ascended from the hotel by a car- 
riage-road ; and from its summit a fine view is obtained. 
Mount Lafayette is the giant of this range, towering 5,280 
feet skyward, and pyramidal in form. Its ascent is long and 
tedious, by a devious bridle-path ; but the view from its sum- 
mit, taking in the whole mountain range and surrounding 
country, compensates for the fatigue. Walker's Falls, in the 
rear of the road, are a series of mountain cascades, leaping 
like a ribbon of silver down through a contracted gorge. 
The Basin is five miles south of the Notch, and lies near the 
roadside. It is formed by the action of the water of the Pem- 
igewasset, which pours over a rocky ledge into a hollow in 
the solid granite. This hollow, by the incessant whirling of 
the water and the pebbles which it carries with it, has been 
worn into a perfect bowl, nearly circular, 45 feet in diameter, 
and 18 feet deep. The clearness of the water is such that the 
smallest objects on the bottom are clearly discerned, though 
its great depth gives it a bright green tint. 
12* 



274 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 




THE FLUME, FRANCONIA NOTCH. 

The Flume is perhaps the most famous, and is certainly not 
the least wonderful, of the curiosities in the Franconia Moun- 
tains. Imagine a solid mass of granite, split to the depth of 
fifty feet, and the perpendicular walls separated twenty feet,, 
and you have an. idea of the Flume. Through it pours a little 
brook; and a plank walk alongside enables the visitor to as- 
cend its course several hundred feet. Near the upper end a 
huge boulder, which evidently lay on the surface when the 
rock was riven, has fallen into the chasm, until the sides, 
gently sloping inward, have caught and hold it suspended in 
mid-air. The Cascade, below the Flume, is a waterfall of 
more than 600 feet descent, gliding over the polished rock 
like a sheet of molten silver. The Pool is an enlarged edition 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 275 

of the Basin. It is about 150 feet wide; and the water is 40 
feet deep. It is cut from the solid granite bj the chisel of 
Nature. From the top of the rocky wall which surrounds it, 
its depth is about 150 feet. The Harvard Falls, also called 
the Georgianna Falls, are the most remarkable cascades in 
the vicinity. For nearly a mile they follow each other down 
the mountain ; and the uppermost makes a flying leap of 150 
feet sheer. Having thus "done" the wonders of the Fran- 
conia region, the tourist may follow the valley of the Pemige- 
wasset down to Plymouth, and thence by rail to Lake Winni- 
piseogee, or may retrace his steps to Littleton or Bethlehem, 
and thence by rail to Twin-Mountain station, at the very door 
of the famous hotel of the same name, 203 miles from Boston. 

The Twin Mountain House, 

This first-class hotel, built in 1869-70, is pleasantly situated 
on a rise of ground on the bank of the Ammonoosuc River, 
commanding a fine view of the White and Franconia Moun- 
tains. To the right rises Mount Lafayette in all its grandeur ; 
while to the left, and distinctly visible, is the White Mountain 
range; and towering above all is Mount Washington. Being 
centrally located, parties can visit many points of interest, 
and return the same day. Among these are the Crawford 
House, with its White Mountain Notch, Mount Willard, the 
Willey House, and numerous cascades, Mount Washington 
and its railway, Profile House, Littleton, Waumbek House, 
and Bethlehem. From this house it is but ten miles to the 
Crawford House (five by rail, five by stage) ; ten miles to 
the depot of the Mount Washington Railway, where cars are 
taken for a trip over the famed rail line to the crowning sum- 
mit ; 30 miles to the Glen House, and 28 miles to Gorham, by 
the Cherry Mountain road. Parties visiting the mountains 
should not fail of making the ascent of Mount Washington 
by its railway, which is a triumph of mechanical skill and 
engineering. Thousands of persons are annually carried up 
this road with perfect ease and safety. Comfortably seated in 



TOURIST^' HANDBOOK. ■ 277 

their cars, rising at the rate of one foot in three, new objects 
of interest come before the eje. Villages, rivers, lakes, and 
mountains continually burst upon the view until the summit 
is reached, when the beholder stands upon the highest point 
of land in this country east of the Mississippi. Parties de- 
siring to descend the mountain on the east side, by the car- 
riage road, will find carriages in readiness for the Glen House 
and Gorham. Coaches run to and from the Twin-Mountain 
House to all important points about the mountains, and to 
the Mount Washington Railway. Leaving the house at 7.30 
in the morning, you reach the summit at 12 m. ; returning, 
leave the summit at 3, p.m., and reach the house at 6.30, p.m. 
The Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad has built a spur- 
track to this house, with an extension to the Fabyan House. 
Passengers leaving Springfield, Boston, or Burlington, Vt., 
in the morning, arrive at 6.20, p.m. ; and those leaving Wells 
River in the morning arrive here at noon. Passengers can 
take the cars at this house in the morning, and reach Boston, 
New York, Newport, Burlington, or Montreal the same day. 
For the pleasure of the guests, the proprietors have provided 
billiards, bowling, pleasure-boats, croquet grounds, and a 
good band during the season. Post and telegraph offices are 
located in the house; and "horses and carriages, with ex- 
perienced drivers, are furnished for parties when desired," 
Those afflicted with " hay-fever," or " autumnal catarrh," will 
find comfort in the fact that the larger number of those afflicted 
with this disease, who have been here in years past, bear 
testimony to partial, and in most cases entire relief from this 
distressing malady. Messrs. A. T. and O. F. Barron are the 
proprietors. One feature of the management of the Messrs. 
Barron is worthy of note. A farm of twelve hundred acres 
near White River Junction, and the old homestead farm at 
Queechee, Vt., supply vegetables, milk, eggs and butter for 
their houses, and guests may be sure of always getting the 
freshest and best of farm and dairy products at their table. 



^\^\\ ^^- ^^x \ 



P 117-1 1 



! 1 1 HI 




'I'll ' '>,■•-■■• ■••'.■•> 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 279 

The Crawford House. 

The same firm are also proprietors of the famous Crawford 
House, at the head of the White Mountain Notch, the head- 
quarters of the region. This splendid hotel, newlj furnished, 
and provided with all the appliances of a modern resort, is so 
placed as to command from its spacious piazzas a grand vista 
down the wondrous White Mountain Notch, and views of the 
summit of Mount Willard, which is reached bj carriage road 
from this point, and of the Elephant's Head, a singular mass 
of rock, projecting from the mountain side, and so perfectly 
forined that no one needs to be told what it is. A glistening 
seam of white rock siinulates the tusk, while the massive head, 
pendulous trunk, and huge ears are represented by dark gray 
crags. From the Crawford House one may ascend Mount 
Washington by bridle-path, carriage-road, or railway, spend 
the night at the Mount Washington, Summit, or Tip Top 
House, and descend next day on the other side to the Glen 
House ; or he may take the stage coach, via Cherry Mountain, 
over the Jefferson Hills, from which a wonderfully fine view 
of Mount Washington, from a new standpoint, is gained. 
Starr King's most enthusiastic descriptions were of this local- 
ity. From Jefferson, a ride of 20 miles around the base of 
Mount Madison brings us to the Glen House; or, if we pi'e- 
fer to make the journey from the Crawford House by another 
route, we take the stage-coach at the door, and are soon 
rattling down through the world-famous White Mountain 
Notch. 

The White Mountain JXTotch. 

This is a gorge, or rift, through the mountains, which 
affords a water course for the Saco river. On either hand 
the mountains tower to the height of 2,000 feet; and the car- 
riage road is cut from the very mountain side, clinging as it 
were to the verge of the steep declivity, while far below the 
river brawls and babbles over its stony bed. In one place, 
called the " Gateway," the Notch is but 22 feet wide. An ex- 



5§0 



tOiJRISTS' HANDBOOK. 




"GATE -OF THE NOTCH." 



tension of the Portland and Ogdensburgh Railroad, up through 
this Notch, opposite the carriage path, is in progress, and will 
probably be open to travel during this season (1875.) On the 
way down the Notch we pass the Flume, a narrow sluiceway, 
worn into the solid rock of the mountain's side, down which 
courses, with the swiftness of light, a mountain stream. A 
little farther on we see the Silver Cascade. This is one of the 
most charming waterfalls imaginable, and may be traced like 
a thread of silver winding down over the glassy rock from 800 
feet above the road. Still farther down, between Mount 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 



2S1 



Webster and the Willej Mountain, we see at the right of the 
road the historic building, the Willey House. 

Here, on the 28th of August, 1826, the Willej Family, nine 
in number, alarmed bj the noise and sight of a terrific ava- 
lanche coming straight down the mountain-side towards the 
house, fled, but were overtaken and buried by the rushing 
mass. A huge rock back of the house divided the earth-slide, 




PEABODY RIVER AND MOUNT WASHINGTON. 

and saved the house. It has been greatly enlarged, and is now 
a place of entertainment. Spark4ing Cascade and Sylvan 
Glade Cascade are pretty waterfalls below the Willey House. 



^82 TOUR IS fS' HANDBOOK. 

Leaving the Saco Valley, below Sawyer's Rock, we turn to the 
east, and cross the Ellis River, getting a view of the Goodrich 
Falls, the most lofty and imposing cataract in the mountains. 
A mile farther on Jackson is reached, where are some very 
beautiful cascades on Wild- Cat Brook. The views of the 
mountains are very grand from this point. From Jackson we 
proceed nearly north, up the Ellis River, and through the 
Pinkham Notch, passing by the way the beautiful Glen Ellis 
Fall, where the water of the river pours down over a precipice 
85 feet high, making a perfect arch of foamy spray; past the 
lovely Crystal Cascade, about the same height, and aptly de- 
scribed as an inverted plume ; past the Emerald Pool, with 
its quiet beauty; Thompson's Falls, and the Garnet Pools, 
and soon arrive at the Glen House. This is one of the largest 
hotels in New England, having about 400 rooms, and is one 
of the most complete and luxurious in all departments. 

From this point teams are provided for trips to the Crystal 
Cascade, Glen Ellis, Emerald and Garnet Pools, the Imp 
Mountain, Tuckerman's Ravine, — with its gloomy depth and 
masses of eternal snow, — West Branch, Mount Carter, and, 
grandest of all, the ascent of Mount Washington. The road, 
which was completed to the summit and opened for travel in 
1861, is a smooth and well-built macadamized turnpike. The 
average grade is 12 feet in 100. There is no diiliculty in the 
ascent, and no more discomfort than in the same amount of 
carriage-riding upon any of the mountain roads. The car- 
riages are easy and comfortable, and have experienced drivers 
capable of giving information. These carriages are accompa- 
nied by baggage-wagons ; and at the summit of the Mountain 
we may take the railroad down to the White Mountain Notch. 

Climbing the Mountain. 

Having passed through the forest that covers the base of the 
mountain, the road emerges on the mountain side near the 
"Ledge." Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison are seen to 
the best advantage from here ; and Starr King calls these moun- 



TOtlRISTS' HAND BO ok 2^2> 

tains, seen from this point, "Nature's struggle against petri- 
fication, the earth's crj for air ! " Rising from the Ledge, the 
road overlooks the vallejof the Ellis and Peabodj Rivers, and 
the Saco Vallej, famed in song. Plateau after plateau does the 
road reach, each one, as we look up to it, seeming to be the 
last. Finally, after about three hours' ride, we reach the sum- 
mit, 6,300 feet above the level of the sea. 

"The first efiiect upon standing on the summit of Mount 
Washington is a bewildering of the senses at the extent and 
lawlessness of the spectacle. It is as though we were looking 
upon a chaos. The land is tossed into a tempest. But in a 
few moments we become accustomed to this, and begin to feel 
the joj of turning round and sweeping a horizon line that in 
parts is drawn outside New England. The diameter of this 
circle is 250 miles: and you are at the central point. As far 
as you can see, in every direction, are mountains holding up 
their faces to be kissed by the sun. There are lakes, rivers, 
villages, and roads no broader than a ribbon, stretching away 
so many miles that it makes one tired ; but the warm blue 
mountains, chain upon chain, are over and above all. Upon 
these things do you look down ; and you can look up — only 
at heaven." 

!N"orth Conway, and its Beauties. 

From the Glen House, a splendid drive down the Pinkham 
Notch and the Saco Valley brings us to North Conway, 
long famed as a suminer resort and a favorite haunt of ar- 
tists, — the most gifted pencils in the country having trans- 
ferred its charming scenes to their canvas. North Conway 
lies just at the portal to the mountains, whose snow-capped 
peaks form the back-ground for the most delightful views. 
The Conway Intervale stretches away on either hand, a broad 
expanse of richest green, threaded by the sparkling Saco 
River. The beautiful village, nestled at the foot of grand old 
Kiarsarge, is a pleasing feature, with its neat white houses, 
well-kept roads, and general air of thrift. The numerous 
hotels and large boarding-houses are taxed to their utmost to 
accommodate their crowds of summer visitors from the cities. 
The principal hotel is the Kiarsarge House, kept for many 



284 



Tourists' handbook. 



seasons past bj Thompson & Sons. This long famous house 
was greatly enlarged in 1872, and fitted up in unsurpassed 
style. The Intervale House, kept by Mudgett & Son, is located 
under the slope of Mount Pequaket, or Kiarsarge, is within a 



..,„,friiii luiiii iiiiii'i (^\j\&| 




beautiful enclosure of hills and surrounded by attractive 
points, easily reached by short walk* from the hotel The 
buildings are comparatively new, and it will be found to be a 
centre of attractions for those who tarry at this point. It has 
about 100 sleeping rooms ; has been newly painted through- 



TOURISTS' HANDBOOK. 285 

out, and partly new furnished ; has a nice hall for parties and 
hops, etc. The house is within a few rods of the Intervale 
Station of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, to which 
the Eastern Road also runs its cars. The other hotels in the 
village are the North Conwaj House, M. B. Mason, propri- 
etor; the Sunset Pavilion, kept bj M. L.Mason; Mason's 
Hotel, F. H. Mason, proprietor; McMillan House, bj J. 
McMillan; the Washington House, J. M. Gibson, proprietor; 
the Eastman House, kept by C. E. Evans. There are, 
besides, many boarding-houses for summer guests. The 
" Ledges," bold granite bluffs, nearly 1000 feet above the 
Saco, with the deep chasm known as the Cathedral ; Di- 
ana's Bath, filled with limpid water, sparkling like crystal ; 
Artists' Falls, in a shadowy glen of picturesque loveli- 
ness ; Echo Lake, at the foot of Mote Mountain, and the 
"White Horse," — are a few of the objects of special in- 
terest in the vicinity of North Gonway. The queenly Kiar- 
sarge, a symmetrical paramid 2,367 feet high, is seen to the 
north-east, and to the west. Mote Mountain, with Chocorua's 
jagged peak in the distance ; while the curves of Rattlesnake 
Ridge, and the imperial domes of Mount Washington and the 
adjacent mountains, complete the framing of this valley, the 
Mecca of thousands of pilgrims every year. Here is the beau- 
tiful station of the Conway Division of the Eastern Railroad, 
where we may take an express train direct for Boston, via 
Great Falls and Portsmouth, with Pullman cars. The Port- 
land and Ogdensburg Road also has a station near by, whence 
those who desire may proceed to Portland and the East. 




THE EPILOGUE. 




•^e/i^f^^f^ OTHING now remains to be said but the word 
^ f4fcj| ll "Farewell," — a word sad at all times, but how 
^'^^r^' inexpressibly mournful when the occasion is the 
^v^^ separation after a vacation journey, with all its 
joys and vexations, sublime scenery, and dusty railroad rides, 
romantic climbs and torn clothes, inspiration of Nature and 
botheration of baggage, sweets of flirtation and bitters of bill- 
paying — yet there is this consolation in our separation, that 
next season our experience can be renewed, if we choose, for 
the attractions described are perennial, our little book is 
always ready and always reliable, and only our own choice is 
needed to revisit some of the bright scenes that we have 
enjoyed together by the way. 

Having sipped the Saratoga waters together, sailed up and 
down the lovely lakes together, climbed in and out of the 
chasm .and over the Adirondack Mountains together, plunged 
over the Falls of Niagara together (figuratively, as it were), 
made the tour of the St. Lawrence, the Saguenay and the 
White Hills together, it will be strange indeed, if we do not 
find ourselves with each recurring season, taking as a part of 
our vacation enjoyinent and recuperation, a trip to some of 
the resorts which we have just visited. 



A Pleasant Excursion. 



A very pleasant trip may be made from Boston by taking either of tiie 
line steamers of 

SANFORD'S INDEPENDENT LINE TO BANGOR. 

THE CAMBRIDGE, CAPT. J. P. JOHNSON, OR THE KATAHDIN, GAPT. W. R. ROIX. 
The boats of this line leave Boston alternately, 

Every Monday, Tuesday, Tlinrsday and Priday, at 5 P. M. 

The tourist desiring to visit that famous resort, Mount Desert, finds the 
easiest and speediest connection, via Steamer Lewiston, at Rocliland. 

" Mount Desert " is the name of an island of about a hundred square 
miles in extent, which enjoys the highest reputation among the many 
places of resort upon that coast. It has been described as the most extra- 
ordinary island on the coast of Maine, and perhaps on the whole coast of 
America. It is remarkable for its size, its bold and wild scenery, its pure 
air, and is not without a curious history. The name formerly belonged to 
a township which comprised the whole island; it is now retained by the 
central portion ; the northerly portion is a township incorporated under 
the name ot " Eden; " and the southerly portion under the name of" Tre- 
mont." The appearance of the island wnen approached from the sea is 
grand and romantic in the extreme. In the central and south-eastern 
parts, the island maintains its native wildness, and game abounds in great 
variety. The great attraction of the place is found in the combination of 
the charms of ocean and mountain scenery, both of wliich may be enjoyed 
here in the highest degree. Whether for trout fishing, or for deep-sea 
fishing, the facilities oflered at Mount Desert are unsurpassed elsewhere. 
The i)rincipal mountain upon the island has been accurately ascertained 
by the United States Coast Survey to be 1480 feet above the level of the 
sea. This is an extraordinary altitude for an eminence within a few miles 
of the deepest waters of the ocean. It is a favorite place for the sojourn 
of artists ; and it is said that whoever visits it once, is sure to return again 
and again. The air is especially pure and bracing; it is strengthening to 
invalids, and is breathed with exquisite pleasure by those in full health. 
Many persons from the cities, after becoming acquainted with the beauties 
of the island in repeated visits, have built houses there in order to make 
it a place of permanent residence during the summer months. There are 
several centres of attraction upon the island. The principal Post-office ad- 
dress is "Bar Harbor." The island is practically almost inaccessible to 
travellers by any land route. The best method of reaching it is by the 
Steamers of Sanford's Independent Line from Boston to Bangor. One of 
these Steamers leaves Boston at five o'clock in the afternoon, every Tues- 
day and Friday; passengers tor Mount Desert are transferred at Rockland 
to the Steamer Lewiston, by which they reach their destination without 
delay. 

The Wassaumkeag House, at Fort Point, on the Penobscot River, is 
another favorite resort reached by this line, and visitors to Moosehead 
Lake, Sebec, St. John, and other points " down East," will get rapidly 
and comfortably to their destinations. The sea voyage gives just 
enough variety to spice the otherwise rather monotonous existence of 
travel, and the comforts to be found on board make the tourist feel at 
home ail the way. 



FIRST-CLASS HOTELS. 



American House .■ ". . . . St. Albans, Vt. 

H. PiERCK & Son, Proprietors. 

American House Montpelier, Vt. 

Chbstick Clark, Proprietor. 

American House Burlington, Vt. 

H. H. Howe, Proprietor. 

American House Fitchburg, Mass. 

E. DeWolf & Co., Proprietors. 

American Hotel Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

Wm. Bennett, Proprietor. 

Bishop's Hotel Montpelier, Vt. 

H. H. Bishop, Proprietor. 

Berwick Hotel Rutland, Vt. 

C. F. Richardson, Proprietor. 

Brattleboro' House Brattleboro', Vt. 

H. A. KiLBUUN, Manager. 

Congress Hall Albany, N. Y. 

Adam Blake, Proprietor. 

Congress Hall Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

Hathorn & SouTHGATE, Proprietors. 

Clarendon Hotel Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

C. E. Leland, Proprietor. 

Columbian Hotel Saratoga Springs, N. Y, 

D. A. Dodge, Proprietor. 

Clifton House Niagara Falls, N. Y, 

COLBURN & McOmber, Proprietors. 

Crawford House Carroll, N. H. 

A. T. & O. F. Barron, Proprietors.! > i**r ;F^ 

Ft. William Henry Hotel. -Lake George (Caldwell), N.Y. 
T. Roessle & Son, Proprietors. 

1 



HOTELS— Continued. 

FouquET's Hotel Plattsburg, N. Y. 

Smith & Martin, Proprietors. 

Grand Union Hotel Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

J. H. Bkislin & Co., Managers. 

HoLDEN House Saratoga Springs, N. Y 

C. H. HOLDEN, Proprietor. 

International Hotel Niagara Falls, N. Y. 

Mason's Hotel North Conway, N. H. 

F. H. Mason, Proprietor. 

Martin's Hotel Saranac Lake, Adirondacks, N. Y. 

W. F. Maktin, Proprietor. 

MoNTEAGLE HoTEL Niagara Falls, N. Y. 

Alexander & Terrill, Proprietors. 

Magog House Sherbrooke, P. Q^ 

F. P. Buck, Proprietor. 

Alarrin House Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

H. A. QuACKENBUSH & Co., Propriftors. 

Ottawa Hotel '- Montreal, P. Q^ 

Browne & Perley, Proprietors. 

Pavilion Hotel Wolfeborough, N. H. 

A. L. Howe, Proprietor. • 

Pemigewasset House Plymouth, N. H. 

C. M. Morse, Proprietor. 

Russell House East Milton, Mass. 

James M. Russell, Proprietor. 

Rockwell House Glens Falls, N. Y. 

Rockwell Brothers, Proprietors. 

Stevens House Vergennes, Vt. 

S. S. Gaines, Proprietor. 

St. Regis Lake House.. St. Regis Lake, Adirondacks, N. Y. 
Paul Smith, Proprietor. 

St. Louis Hotel Quebec, P. Q^ 

W. Russell & Son, Proprietors, 

Twin Mountain House Carroll, N H. 

A. T. & O. F. Barron, Proprietors. 

United States Hotel Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

Hou. James M. Marvin, Proprietor. 

Union Hotel Cuttingsville, Vt. 

H. Todd, Proprietor. 

Van Ness House Burlington, Vt. 

Barber «fe Ferguson, Proprietors. 

Weldon House St. Albans, Vt. 

Thomas Lavender, Proprietor. 

Waverly House Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 

Major W. J. RiGGS, Proprietor. 



INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS. 



Lake Shore and Michigan Sdfcithern Railway 

Adriondack Company's Railrogid, 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railway, 

Michigan Central & Great Western Railway 

Montreal & Boston Air Line, 

St. Lawrence & Saguenay Line, . 

Quebec & Gulf Ports Steamship Co., 

Eastern & Maine Central Line, 

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 

Congress and Empire Springs, 

Ottawa Hotel, 

Monteagle Hotel, . 

St. Louis Hotel, 

Eagle Hotel, . 

Brattleboro House, 

Bellevue House, 

Magog House, 

Congress Hall, k 

RoUstone House, S 

Boston Daily Globe, 

Boston, Concord, Montreal & ^hite Mountains R R 

Bray & Hayes, i 

Boston Courier, ) 



4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

lO 

II 

12 

r3 
H 
15 
i6 

17 
i8 

19 

20 

21 

22" 
23 

24 



Lake M d Mieiip Mm Mway. 

The Great DoubleTrack Route 

From BOSTON and NEW YOUK 

To CHICAG-O, via BUFFALO. 



The only Line connecting with the 

NEW YORK CENTRAL AND ERIE RAILWAYS 

Running Through Cars without Transfer of Baggage. 



M lift iii f f alii lii?i iiffik 



DAILY FOR 

CLEVELAND, TOLEDO, OH 10 AGO AND 8T. LOUIS, 

WITHOUT CHANGE. 

A Ziahe Shore Palace Sleeping Car runs between Niagara Falls 
and Chicago, via East JSuffalo (daily, Sundays excepted), leaving Niagara 
Falls ri-33 A. M., and accompanies the Chicago tram leaving East Buffalo, 12.15 
P. M., arriving Chicago, 8.20 A. M. 



Only one Change of Cars between BUFFALO and ST. JOSEPH, 

KANSAS CITY, LEAVEN^WORTH, OMAHA 

and ALL POINTS ^WEST and 

SOUTHWEST. 

SECURE TICKETS BY THIS FAVORITE ROUTE. 

For Sale at all Frincipal OflBces in the East. 
Sections secured in "Wagner Cars, Boston to Chicago, at the 
Company's Ofllce, No. 210 Washington St., (Old State House,) 
and on application to Wagner's Agents. 

JAS. S. SMITH, Agent, J. A. BURCH, Gen'l Eastern Agent, 

210 Washington St., Boston, Buffalo, JV. Y. 

CHAS. PAINE, General Sup't, CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

W. W. RUGGLES, Gen'l Trav. Agent for Mass. and Northern New England, 

Boston, Mass. 
W. A. CROMWELL, Gen'l Trav. Ag't for East^n New England and Provinces, 

Boston, Massi 

4 



ifjtttta^ ^<^tttpttg'$ Mafltntsi 



PEOM SARATOGA SPEINGS, 

TO 

HADIiEY, (LUZERNE,) THURMAlSr, (Station for "WAR- 

BENSBTJRG and LAKE GEORGE,) RIVERSIDE, 

AND NORTH CREEK, 

FORMING THE 

MP ST DIRECT RAILROAD ROUTE 

TO THE 

Valley of the Uppei^ Wudson, 

A.iid. the Wild.emess. 



Express Trains leave Saratoga Springs on arrival of morning and 
mid-day (N. Y. Special) trains from tlie south. 

Connections are made at T/mrmatt nvitJi a First- Class Stage 
Line to Lake George. 

Tlie distance by Stage, (9 miles), Through Fare and Time being the 
same as by the old route via Glen's Falls. This route affords 

New and Far More Picturesque and Delightful Scenery 

Than any other route from Saratoga. 

Also, at Riverside with Stages for Chester, Pottersville, and 
the Steamboat on Schroon Lake. 

Also, at North Creek (from morning Train) with Stages for 
Warburn's, {Indian Lak%) Jackson's, {Cedar River,) Wakeley's 
{Cedar Fails,) and the new Hotel at Blue Mountain Lake, 29 miles 
distant, the most desirable rendezvous and starting point from 
which, to reach Raquettb Lake, and the Heart of The Great 
Forest. 

C. E. DVItKEE, C. S. BALIjAMD, 

General Ticket Agent. Superintendent 



Mtm% Mllwiilie t St. 9iil 



jA.IXm'XIV .A-S: 



THE GREAT THROUGH LINE between 

Chicago, New Yorl, Nesr England, llie Canalas, 



-AND- 



All iEastern and (Southern Points, 

AND THE GREAT NORTHWEST. 

Connecting in Chicago witli all Eastern and Soutliern Lines. 

Chicago Depot :— Corner Canal and West Madison Sts. Horse 
Cars and Stage Lines for all pa^s of tlie City constantly passing. 

Chicago City Offices :— 61 and 63 Clark Street. 

Milwaukee Depot :— Corner Reed and South Water Sts. Horse 
Cars and Omnibus Lines running regularly therefrom to the principal 
liarts of the City. 

City Ticket Office :— 400 Ea^ Water St. cor. Wisconsin Street. 

'-^^ 

TSJE ONIjY THROW^m LIKE BETWEEN' 

Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Minneapolis. 



It traverses a finer country, with grander scenery, and passes 
through more business centres and pleasure resorts, than any other 
Northwestern Line. 

The Only Haihvag Ly%e along the Valley of 
THE XJI>I*EI1 3i:iSJSIlSlSII»I»I RIVER, 

AND THE SHORE OF LAKE PEPIN, 

Also via Madison, Prairie du Chiea, McGregor, Austin and Owatonna, 



THROUGH PAUCE COACHES AND SLEEPING CARS OF IKE BEST, 

A.NI> TKACIt PERFECT. 

[[^"Connecting at St. Paul and Minneapolis, with the several lines 
centering at those points. 

St. Paul. Depot :— Corner of Jackson and Levee Streets. 

City Office :— lis East Jackson Street, corner of Third Street. 

A. V. H. CAKPENTEE, Gen. Pass, and Ticket Agent, Milwaukee- 

BOSTON OFFICE: 1 Court St., E. I. HIIL, Agent, 




Ieslsrii|ailwa]fs, 



BUFFALO, SUSFFJYSIOJY BRIDGE, 



AND 






'>'i»)/, 



9® 



4r Through Express Trains Daily to Chicago. 

Pullman and Wagner's luxurious Drawing-Room, Hotel and Palace Sleeping 
Cars run on all Through Express Trains over this Line, with 

mvi @ii 6IAM1 m iiii Fi@i idif @i f ® iiiiiif- 



THIS IS THE 



SHORTEST, QUICKEST and MOST DESIRABLE LINE 

BETWEEN THE 

NEW ENGLAND STATES 

AND 

CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE, ST. PAUL, 

AND THE PACIFIC COAST. 



Passengers 'purchasing their tickets by this route are allowed to stop off and 

resume their journey at pleasure, thus affording them an opportunity of 

witnessing the Greatest Natural wonder in America, the 

FALLS AND SOENEBY OF NIA&AEA. 

Baggage diecked. TJarongh. to all Foints 'West. 
Be sure and ask for Tickets via 

The Great Western and Michigan Central Railways^ 

Which are sold at all principal offices east of Suspension Bridge. 

A. J. HARLOW, J. Q. A. BEAN, 

Eastern Passenger Agent, Gen'l Eastern Agent, 

201 Washington St., Bo ton, 349 Broadway, New York. 

7 



THE GREAT NORTHERN ROUTE FOR T0UR/3TS 
AND PLEASURE SEEKERS. 



THE NEW 



©itiiil mi Bmim Am Mm 



—COMPOSED OF THE— 



Boston, Concord & Montreal R. E., Cencord to Wells River, 
Passumpsic E. E., Wells Eiver to Newport, Vt., 

South-Eastern Eailway, Newport to Sti Johns, P. Q. 

Will run 2 FAST EXPRESS TRAINS, 

Composed of NEW AND ELEGANT CARS provided with 
all modern improvements, 

Frcm BOSTON ('■o°e'^^!f^) to MONTREAL, 

Where connection is made with Grand Trunk Railway for the West. 



Entire Trains, with Pullman Cars attached, run from Boston to Montreal 
without change, and only one change to Chicago. No route from Boston presents 
such magnificent scenery, and Passengem by this Line travel through the Para- 
dise of this Continent, 

A continuous and most charming Panorama of River, Mountain. Valley and 
Lake Scenery will entertain the traveler for a distance of 250 miles, including 
the grand views of 

ZAKE WINNIPESAJ7KEE, 

TME WHITE MOVNTAIN KANQE, 
PASSUMPSIC HirEB VAZLET, 
CRTSTAL LAKE, 

AND THE 

MOMANTIC ZAKE MEMPHJtEMAGOG, 



Trains stop 30 minutes for meals at the Pemigewasset House, Plymouth, 
N. H., and the Memphremagog House, Newport, Vt. 

General Office, 
(Old Xumber 94.] 

GUST. LEVE, Gen'l Agent. 



THE 



LINE OF STEAMERS,' 

PLYING BETWEEN 



QUEBEC, 



THE 

E.IVEE. S.A.C3-TJEIsr.A."Y", 

AND THE 

"Watering Places of the lower St. Lawrence, 

IS COMPOSED OF THE 

First-Class Sea-Going Passenger Steamers, 

''SAGUJENA Y'/' 

''ST. LAWREN^CJE/' 

CLTLCl ''UNION.'' 



ACCOMMODATIONS FIRST-CLASS, .m 

CHARGES MODERATE. 

Tickets for sale at all Principal Ticket Offices in tlie States and 
Canada; and at tlie Office of the Company, opposite St. Louis 
Hotel, Quebec, or St. Andrews Wharf. 

For further information apply to 

STEVENSON & LEVE, General Agents, A. CABOURY, 

BOSTON : 240 Washington Street. Secretary. 

IIONTBEAL : 202 St, James Street. 

9 



A GREAT ATTRACTION 

To Tourists and Pleasure Travelers, 
IS THE BOUIE OF THE 

Quebec and Gulf Ports 

STEAMSHIP CO. 

Whose commodious Steamers proceed from Quebec down the 
majestic River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, in sight of the grandest 
scenery and many historical points, calling at numerous noted sea- 
bathing resorts on the south sh(M-e of the Gulf, giving the sports- 
man and angler a chance to visu the most far-famed rivers, bays 
and inlets, which swarm with trout and salmon. 

The Steamers connect at Point du Chene (Shediac) with the 
Intercolonial Railroad for SN;. John, N. B., thence by cars and 
steamers to 

PORTLAJYB AJYI) BOSTOJY, 

and at Pictou with Intercolonial Railroad for Halifax, N. S., 
connecting there with Raflroad or Steamer lines for St. John, 
Portland and Boston. This is the route to CHARLOTTE- 
TOWN and PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 

From New York, Boston, or q^her points in New England, to 
Montreal, Quebec, thence via GStilf Port Steamers to Shediac, N. B., 
Charlottetown, P. E. I., Pictou, >^. S., St. John, N. B., Halifax, 
N. S., passing through all points of interest in the maritime 
provinces, and returning by either rail or steamer to Portland, 
Boston and New York ; or vice versa. 

For sale in New York, Boston, and principal points in New 
England, at all Offices selling Excursion Tickets. 

Ask Ticket Agent for Gulf Ports Steamer circular, which will 
give you all the particular information, and map of route. 

STEVENSON & LEVE, Passeng^ 'Ag'ts. W. MOORE, Manager. 



GENERAL OPFICE, Opposit^e St. Louis Hotel, QUEBEO. 

]VIoiitreal, - - SOS St. Jaixies St. 

BOSTON, - - - 240 {old i^emher, 94) Washington Street. 

10 








} 



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U 






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This fold-out is being 




k^tef r\ ^ iit^iiie ^;er\tf ^1 



RAILROAD LINE. 
THE QEEAT THBOUQH BOUTE 



TO TI€:E1 



Ptate of Maine & Maritime Provinces, 

SHORTEST and popular route via the Sea Shore, Hampton and 
Rye Beaches, and Isles of Shoals, to Wolfboro, North Conway, 
and White Mountains. 

The only direct route to the RATsTGELEYS and MOOSEHEAD 
LAKE, the GREAT FISHIWG R ESORTS. 

CONNECTIONS are also made at Portland with the Grand 
Trunk Railway, for Gorham, the Canadas, and the West, also with 
all the Steamboat Lines to Mount Desert, the coast of Maine and 
the Maritime Provinces. 

NO CHANGE OF CARS 

Between Boston and North Conway, or Boston and Bangor, and 
but one to St. John, N. B. 

PULLMAN PALACE CABS are in use on this Line. 

No other line offers such facilities or possesses such advantages, 
to the great pleasure resorts of New England. All the modern 
improvements are in use on this road. 

Can be secured by letter or telegraph, at the 

Boston Oface, 280 "Washington Street- 

Before purchasing Tickets refer to Maps, Advertisements, etc., 
of this Company, to be obtained at the Ticket Offices in New York, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,' Montreal, Quebec, and White 
Mountains, also of the principal Ticket Agents in the United 
States and Maritime Provinces. 

CESAS. F. HATCH, Gen'i Ulaiiag-er. 

GEO. BACHELDER, Sup't E. E. R. PATSON TUCKEE, Sup't M. 0. E. E. 
CiEO. F. FIE:r.l>, Geu'l Pass. Ageut. 

11 



THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT 

AND IS PAID FOR AS SUCH, 



BUT NOTWITHSTANDING 



It is literally^true, as thousands can and will 
testify, that the 

OM@ag@, liflligloi mi ^mmj 

Has the SMOOTHEST AND BEST TEACK, and the BEST AND MOST 

COMPLETE EQUIPMENT of all roads m the West, and has 

NO SUPEEIOE. in any part of the country. 

/t is the Favorite witii tiie Traveling Public. 

It is the only line to 

0-A.i_.i:FOE.isri^ 

Running the justly Celebrated and most Comfortable 

DTNTNQ C, A RR =^ - 



And offers the very best route to all points in 

KANSAS, C01.0RAI>0, 

NEW MEXI«!0, IOWA, 

IVI:BRASKA, miSSOVKI AND TEXAS. 

No Passenger will ever regret having chosen this Route. 

TICKETS via this Line POE SALE AT ALL THE TICKET OFFICES IN THE EAST. 

COMPANY'S OFFICES: 
317 Broadway, New York. 222 'Washington St., Boston. 

D. W. HITCHCOCK, E. P. RIPLEY, 

Gen'l Pass. Agent, CHICAGO. Gen'l Eastern Pass. Agent, BOSTON. 

12 



THE 



CONGRESS and EMPIRE 

SPRING \VATERS, 

Si'e tl^e Se^t Sr\ti-Siliou^ l^eir\edie^ ki\owi\. 



They are purely natural mineral waters, cathartic, alterative aud 
slightly stimulating and tonic iu their effects, without producing the 
debility that usually attends a course of medicine. 

They are used with marked success in Affections of the Liver aud 
Kidneys ; and for Dyspepsia, Gout, Chronic Constipation, and Cuta- 
neous Diseases they are unrivalled. 

They are especially beneficial as general preservatives of the tone of 
the stomach and purity of the blood, and are i)owerful preventatives 
of Fevers and Bilious Complaints. 

These waters should be taken in the morning before breakfast— one 
pint being the usual draught— and their use may be continued daily 
for months, with the most agreeable results, and without reaction, or 
any necessity of increasing the quantity taken. 

Congress Water being the most popular of the Saratoga waters, 
is largely counterfeited. Every genuine bottle has the letter *'C," 
with the name of the undersigned Proprietors, and the words Con- 
gress Water raised upon the glass. 

The genuine Empire Water may be similarly distinguished, the 
letter **E,** and words Empire Water, being substituted for those 
above named. 

Purchasers should require these brands and marks. 

^^ None Genuine sold on draught. 

Orders by mail receive prompt attention. Address 
CONGRESS & EMPIRE SPRIN€t CO., 

94 CHAMBERS STREET, 
Or, SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. T. NEW rORK. 

13 



OTTAWA HOTEL, 



]>i:0]VTi:tE^3L.. 



C. S. BROWN£, J. Q. PERLEY, Proprietors. 




THIS well known and popular Hotel is situated on St. 
James Street, the principal business street of the city, and is 
near the Post Office, Banks, Theatre, and all the Public Build- 
ings, and has ample accommodation for 400 guests. 

The Ottawa Hotel covers the entire space of ground run- 
ning between St. James and Notre Dame Streets, and has two 
beautiful fronts. The House has been thoroughly Refitted and 
Furnished with every regard to comfort and Luxury — has hot and 
cold water, with baths and closets on each floor. The aim has 
been to make this the 

Most Unexceptional First-Class Hotel In Montreal. 

The proprietors respectfully assure their patrons that no 
exertions will be spared to make this Hotel 

A Comfortiiljle Home for ih Traveling Public. 

Carriages, with attentive drivers, may be had at all times 
by application at the office. 

Coaches will be found at the Railway Depot and Steamboat 
Landings, on the arrival of the several Trains and Steamers. 

Montreal Telegraph Office in the House. 

14 



Monteagle House, 



SUSPENSION EH, NmU N. \ 




This House is now open for the reception of its patrons and 
the traveling public, under an entire new management. Having 
been refitted and entirely renovated it commands the attention of 
parties visiting Niagara. The rooms command a fine, uninterrupt- 
ed view of Niagara Falls, the two Suspension Bridges, Whirlpool, 
and Whirlpool Rapids. In connection with the house are Mineral 
Sulpher Springs and Bfeths, making it desirable for those requiring 
tonic and cutaneous treatment. 

Free OmziibvLS to and from all trains. 
Terms, .$3.00 per day. 

Special inducements to partifjp remaining any length of time. 
Parties intending to stop at th&^ Monteagle, should have their bag- 
gage checked to Suspension Bridge. 

ALEXANDER & TEEHILL, Proprietors. 

IS 



CT. LOUIS HOTEL 



8T, LOUIS STREET, 



:Q, TJ IE B E O 



WILLIS HXJSSELL, - - - - Proprietor. 




This Hotel, wliicli is um-ivalled for size, style and locality, in Que- 
bec, is open through the year for pleasure and business travel. 

It is eligibly situated near to, and surrounded by the most delight- 
ful and fashionable promenades,— the Governor'ts Garden, the Citadel, 
the Esplanade, the Place d' Amies, and Durham Terrace— which fur- 
nish the splendid views and magniflceut scenery for which Quebec is 
so justly celebrated, and which is unsurpassed in any part of the 
world. 

The proprietor, in returning thanks for the very liberal patronage 
hitherto enjoyed, informs the public that this hotel has been enlarged 
and refitted, and can now accommodate five hundred visitors ; and 
assures them that nothing will be wanting on his part that will con- 
duce to the comfort and enjoyment of his guests. 

16 



OI»FOSITE3 THE C^FITOIL. GMiOTJNIDS* 
CONCOKD, NEW HAMPSHIEE. 




Enlarged, Refitted., and Hefurnished. 



TOURISTS 

Wishing to make a stop on the way to or from tlie Mountains will 
find accommodations equal to any in New England. 

Free Carriages to and from the Depot, 

JOSX- S. Wai¥l{, Pfopfietof 

17 



V*- RT?iTTri?RnRn VT ^-C. 



BRATTLEBORO, VT. 




H. A. KILBURN, MANAGER. 



18 



BELLEVUE HOUSE 




H. BEAN, - - - - Proprietor. 



The Bellevue was constructed last season, and opened for the accommodation 
of the public Dec. ist, 1873. It has all of the modern improvements, lighted by 
gas, large pleasant rooms, and for neatness and conveniences is unsurpassed by 
any house in the State. Being situated at the head of Lake Memphremagog, 
and at the junction of the S. E. Railway with the C. & P. R. & M. V. R. R., 
makes it a very desirable and accessable point both for commercial and pleasure 
travellers. 

The management, grateful to the public for the favors extended to him for the 
past ten years, solicits a continuance of their patronage, with the assurance that 
the Bellevue shall be second to none in its comforts and accommodations. 

BATES PEE DAY:— For Commercial Travollsrs, $2.00; for Pleasure Visiters, $2.50, 
j^p*Livery furnished for guesjg at reasonable rates. 

Newport, June ist, i8fs. 

19 



A/TAGOG HOUSp 

iVJL SHERBROOKE, P. Q. ±_^ 




At Newport, Vt., the traveller can take the elegant Steamer 

'' LADY OF THE LAKE," 

9APT. FOGG, 

To Magog, and from that point, John Norton's Stage Line to 
Sherbrooke, where they will find the 



MAGOG HOUSE, 



Under the management of Mr. H. S. Helpburn, one of the best 
kept Houses in Canada. 

Excellent Fishing in the Vicinity. 

The far famed Lakes 

MASSAWIPPI AND MEGANTIC 

Are but a short distance from the House. 

The Steamer, the Stage Line, and the House are under the con- 
trol of men who from long experience are well qualified to antici- 
pate and satisfy the wishes of travellers. 

20 



Congress halL 

ALBANY, jsr. IT, 



Situated on Capitol Hill, adjoining the New Capitol, and State 

Library; fronting on the City Parks, and in the 

immediate vicinity of all the State 

Buildings. 

WITH ALL THE MODERN IMPKOVEMENTS. 

Pleasure seekers will find this the most pleasant Hotel to stop 
at in the City. 

ADAM BLAIi:E, Proprietor. 



FIRST-CLASS HOTEL 



CVi 



oi 



OUSE, 



OLLSTONE 

FITCHBURG, MASS. 
Wm. F. Day, - - Proprietor. 



Formerly of Fitchburg Hotel and 
American House. 



Guests conveyed to and from the Deoots free of charge. 

21 



BosTonsr 

DAILY GLOBE. 

FOLDED, PASTED AND CUT 

LIKE J^ BOOK. 

PRICE THREE CENTS. 



22 



So^toii, Cor^c^of d, ^oi\tf Cell 



AND 



WHITE MNTAIKS 1 1 



Now open to the Fabyan House, White Mountains, and to 
Northumberland on the Grand Trunk Railway. 

TAe Shortest^ Quickest and Best Route 

TO THE 

White and Franconia'Mountains, Montreal and Quebec. 

This is the only line running Day Palace Cars and Express Trains 
between Boston, Providence, Worcester, New London, Ston- 
ington, and the White and Franconia Mountains. This 
Line passing as it does up the valley of the Merrimac 
and Connecticut Rivers, through the Cities of 
Lowell, Lawrence, Nashua, Manchester, and 
Concord, and along the borders of Lake 
Winnepesaukee for 30 miles, termi- 
nating at the foot of Mt. Wash- 
ington, passing River, Lake, and 
Mountain scenery unequalled in New 
England, and in the immediate vicinity of the 
principal Hotels and summer Boarding Houses 
in the Northern part of the State, makes it 
the popular travellers route for 
Tourists visiting the 

Lake and Mountain Scenery of New HampsMre. 

For further information regarding time, connections, tickets, &c., 
see the principal R. R. Guides, or apply to 

No. 5 State Street, or 240 Washington Street, Boston, 

And the principal Offices on the Line. 

J. A. DOD&E, Sup't, Plymouth, N. H. 

23 



BRAY & HAYES, 

99 and 101 Broad Street, Boston, 

l^nipDttijt^ mi €mn\mm ^fli^nte, 

S. Eae & Co.'s Italian Oils. Keen's English Mustard. 

French Prunes, Sardines, Salad Oil, Olives, Mushrooms, Truffles, 
French Peas, Capers, China Preserved Ginger, &c.. True Castile 
Soap, White and Mottled, Fine Toilet Soaps, English Pickles, 
Sauces and Catsups, Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard (tins and bot- 
tles), India Soy, and Currie Powder, Potted Ham, Anchovies, &c. 
Liebie's Food for Infants, Groats and Barley for Infants, London 
and Dublin Porter, and Scotch Ale, Scotch Oatmeal (lbs. and bbls). 
Cox's Gelatine ; French Gelatine, Marmalades, Jellies, &c., Edin- 
burg Albert Biscuit, London Biscuits (tins and bbls.), Liebig's 
Extract of Beef, Italian Macaroni, &c., Chamois Skins, &c. 

DAY & MARTIN'S LONDON BLACKINQ. MAI'S ENGLISH WASHING POWDBB. 
CBOSSE & ELACEWELL'S ENGLISH PICKLES AND CONDIMENTS. 



1824. 



1875. 



_ This widely known paper has been estabhshed for half a century, and it is be- 
lieved it has maintained, during this long period, a reputation unsurpassed by any 
other in the United States. Within the past year, and since its enlargement and 
the introduction of several new and special features, The Courier has made ex- 
traordinary advances in public favor, and its subscribers and readers have in- 
creased to an extent which its proprietors believe altogether unparalleled, for so 
short a time, in the records of a newspaper enterprise in New England. The 
Courier is a paper to be read, and its proprietors have ample means of knowing 
that it is carefully perused by great numbers of all classes of persons throughout 
the range of its circulation, and is much sought for by many leading minds in all 
departments of life. 

It is obvious how important a medium of advertising such a paper must be, a 
fact of which we exhibit plenty of evidence that the intelligent public is conscious; 
and taking advantage of this opportunity to thank their numerous advertisers for 
past favors, the proprietors of The Courier would respectfully solicit from their 
friends and the public the patronage which they may think justly due to this long- 
established and well-known paper. The favor with which it is received warrants 
us in every effort to promote its circulation, and full reliance may be felt, that it 
will maintain its character, and all pains will constantly be taken to make the 
paper in every respect useful and entertaining. 

TEEMS— One copy by mail, one year, $2.75 ; by carrier, one year, $3-00. 

Payment to be made invariably In advance, 

JOSEPH F. TRAVERS, Publisher, 

299 Washington Street, ----- BOSTON. 

24 




OPEN FOB, GUESTS FROM JUNE 1st UNTIL NOVEMBEE 1st. 

Beatitiftilly situated ott an eminence overlooking the village and 
Seneca Lake, and but five minutes' walk front the won- 
derful world-reno%uned Watkins Glen, one of the most 
romantic spots on the American Contiitent. 

This House is replete with every comfort and luxury demanded by the modern 
tourist, and will accommodate 150 guests. It challenges comparifon with any 
Slimmer resort hotel in the country— large rooms, high ceilings and thorough ven- 
tilation — pure spring water and gas throughout— hot and cold baths — telegraph 
office in the house — extensive grounds with groves and evergreen forest trees, 
and scenic attractions unsurpassed in the country, 

J. M. BETTMAN, Manager. 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 107 526 3 C^ 



